In the Name of Soap Opera
by Dermatillomania
Summary: After a quiz his sister made him take, Gaara is afraid of being dumped by Naruto. So, taking her advice, he explores the wonders of romance and drama, becoming the ultimate romantic boyfriend. Let's see how long that lasts. Yaoi, GaaraxNaruto
1. Don't You Love Me?

A/N: Ey, welcome to one of my many fanfictions that I have started. This one will be a romance/humor yaoi fic between Gaara and Naruto, hopefully this one is more successful XD

Anyway, I don't own Naruto. Please enjoy :)

**In the Name of Soap Opera**

**Chapter One**

**Don't You Love me?**

**-**

"Do you love me?"

His voice was firm, his expression strong yet forlorn, and his words having no relation to what the conversation had been about.

"What do you mean?" The red haired boy ho was sitting next to him questioned, turning his head and gazing upon his blond haired beauty. Once he noticed the expression, he blinked, suddenly a bit worried. "Of course I do, you know that."

"Why don't you ever say it?" The blond persisted, obviously eager to get the story within his mind straight.

"Naru-chan.." The red head smiled. "You know I'm not used to this kindof thing.. just because I don't say it doesn't mean it's not true."

"But you've never said it.. not once." The boy known as Naruto said, frowning. He was obviously upset. "I believe you.. but it's still nice to hear those words every once in a while.."

"Okay.." The re head stared at Naruto. He had no clue that it had upset him, he never really thought there was a point in saying words that were so obviously true. Of course, if Naruto really wanted him to say it that bad, he would say it. "I love you."

Naruto smiled, resting his head on the red haired boy's shoulder. "I love you too, Gaara."

- - -

"I don't know what I'm supposed to do.."

Gaara sighed, crossing his arms and leaning against the wall of his older sister's bedroom. He had gone to her for boyfriend advice, not only because he believe she was the best sorce of information on that matter that he had, but also because it would be easier to talk to her about it than anybody else.

"Well, do what you feel is right." His sister smiled, laying down on her bed with a book. She hadn't taken her eyes off of it, but somehow she was able to talk to Gaara. "And if you still don't know what to do, then try gathering information on relationships."

"What..?" He stared at her, and she finally looked up at him. "What do you mean 'gather relationship information'? How?"

"Easy," She smirked. "Romance novels, reality TV shows, chick flicks, quizes in female magazines, and most definately soap operas."

"Soap operas..?" He stared at her, not taking her seriously. "Come on, Temari, who do you think you're kidding? Soap operas? Chick flicks? Girly quizes? How is any of this going to help me at all? I'm the semi, thank you very much."

"I really needed to know that.." She rolled over and slapped her forehead. "Look, I'm not trying to help you with your sex life, okay? Nor would I like to know about it."

"No, that's not what I meant!" He uncrossed his arms and raised his hands defensively. "We haven't done anything like that! We haven't even kissed yet. I was saying that I'm the man in the relationship, so how would a bunch of girly things help me out?"

"Alright, manly man, would you like to know how it would help you out?" She sat up, crossing her legs and leaning her elbows on them. When he nodded, she closed her eyes and smiled. "You would understand more thoroughly how a relationship works. You would understand a feminen mind better, and also how the perfect man would act. I can help you on the quizes."

"So, would it really work..?" He asked, crossing his arms again. "How do I know if I understand properly?"

"Leave that to me." She grinned, getting off her bed and going through the drawer in her desk, pulling out one of those gossip magazines. She went back to her bed, sitting down and flipping through the pages, stopping at some point and looking up at Gaara. "Get ready to take a quiz."

"What..?" He blinked, then sighed, giving a slight shrug. "Alright, whatever.."

"Want help or not?" Temari said, and when he nodded, she looked down to the magazine. "Okay, first question. Where do you take Naruto on your dates together?"

"Um.." He thought for a second, then gave her a strange expression. "He usually chooses.."

"Okay.." She said, her tone making it sound like Gaara had failed the quiz already. "Number two, where do you usually take him to eat?"

"..." He seemed a bit nervous to answer that question. "Well.. we usually go anywhere that's close.."

"Does he pay?" She asked, just to make sure. When Gaara nodded, her expression made him even more nervous. "Number three.. how do you act when your with Naruto around your friends?"

"I guess I'm sort of over protective.." He replied, waiting patiently for the next question.

"Number four, how much do you two see eachother?"

"Um.." He thought about it, then gave her his reply. "Usally once a week.."

"Number five, how many times do you tell him that you love him when your together?"

"Usually not at all.." He said, and she looked worried. "That's not good.. is it..?"

"Nope. Number six, what do you wear on your dates together?"

"What I wear all the time.." He said, and she looked to the bottom of the page, tallying up his answers and readinng his outcome. She made a face, and Gaara started to get worried. "What..?"

"Your results.." She covered her mouth and tried not to laugh. "Loser. Your partner pays, your partner chooses, you don't show any feeling towards them, you don't talk about them with friends, and you probably look like you let a monkey put your outfit together. It's telling Naruto to drop that zero and get himself a hero."

"...?!" He stared at Temari, looking more nervous than he had in a while. "You don't think.. that'll happen.. do you..?"

"To be honest.." She started, staring at Gaara. "It depends, but most of the time, it's a yes."

"...Shit.." He put his hands to his head, slowly letting himself slide to the floor. "He's going to leave me.."

"Hey hey hey," She got off the bed and sat in front of her little brother. "Just because that quiz said that doesn't mean it will happen. It just means theres a good chance it will. Now, that depends on how Naruto looks at it. Say, does he have any female friends?"

"Well.. yeah, a few actually." He looked at her. "Why?

"Here," She handed him the magazine, finding a sticky note and sticking it on the page of the quiz. "Ask one of them to take Naruto on a 'girls' night out, and get them to get him to do the quiz. Make sure it's the nicest one of his girl friends,and make sure that it's the one you get along with most. Otherwise it probably wouldn't work."

"Alright..?" He frowned, taking the magazine from her. "Well, thanks for the help, Temari.."

"No problem." She smiled, pulling her younger brother into a hug. "Don't worry, okay? It'll all work out. Trust me."

He nodded, patting her back before she pulled away. They both stood, and he gave her a last thank you before he left her room, thinking about who he would look for right in the morning tomorrow.

- - -

A/N: Don't worry, this story will get funnier.. I hope :P Annyway, please review, and next chapters are coming soon :)


	2. Slumber Parties

**In the Name of Soap Opera**

**Chapter Two**

**Slumber Parties**

"A sleepover?"

The blond haired boy stood at his locker, staring at the girl beside him. She smiled back, putting her hand through her pink hair. "Why?"

"Because," She giggled. "You look like you need just a night with the girls, you know? Ice cream, make-overs, doing each others hair, shopping, movies, magazines, gossip, and ice cream!"

"You said ice cream twice.." He blinked, closing his locker and giving her a strange look. "This is kinda sudden.. who else is coming?"

"Oh, you know, Hinata, Ino, and TenTen. Just us five." She smiled. "We can head to your place to get some of your stuff, then we'll all have an awesome time, I promise!"

"But-"

"You don't have a choice, Naruto." She grinned, putting her arm through his and dragging him out of the school. "Loosen up, you'll have a great time!"

He frowned, wondering what Gaara was doing. Would Gaara want to see him today? Was he on his way to Naruto's locker now? He sighed, realizing that Gaara wouldn't go unless Naruto asked him to. "Okay.. I guess you're right. Thanks, Sakura."

She smiled at him. "Anything for a friend."

- - -

Naruto, Sakura, Hinata, Ino, and TenTen wandered through the mall, looking through the random shops they passed by. Naruto gasped, running over to one of the shops he noticed. It was a music store, that had guitars lined up on the walls for sale. The girls walked over, looking in as well. Ten Ten wandered into the store, and Hinata looked at Naruto.

"Um.. w-why d-did we stop here..?" She said, blushing. He smiled at her, then put his face up against the glass again.

"Because of that," He pointed up at one of the guitars on the wall. It was an acoustic, a jet black colour, with red flames going along it. "I know that Gaara would like that.."

Sakura pulled Naruto away from the window, and Ten Ten came back out of the store. "Listen, Naruto. Were not here for Gaara, just forget about the loser! This is your night, okay? Let's get _you_ something that _you_ would like."

He frowned when she called Gaara a loser, but he knew that it was only her way of saying things. She'd call anybody's boyfriend a loser. "Okay.."

Ino patted Naruto on the back, giving him a warm smile. "Hey, cheer up! I know, let's head over to the frozen yogurt section!!"

"Awesome!" He shouted, turning around and running towards the food related part of the mall. The girls laughed, Ino and Sakura running with him, while Hinata and TenTen stayedbehind and walked.

Once they all got their frozen yogurt, they walked out of the food court, sitting near the fountain that was placed in the middle of the mall. Naruto ate his frozen yogurt, smiling.

"Mm.. they always make the best! Especially the banana flavoured ones." He grinned, and the girls laughed at him, Hinata giggling. He looked confused. "What?"

"Of course you would like the banana ones the best, Naruto." Ino laughed, and Naruto finally understood what she was talking about.

"Well, I think you're liking the banana a lot as well, Ino." He grinned, and she laughed even more. "Don't even say anything."

"Touche." She stuck her tounge out at him, and he did the same to her.

"Hey," Sakura opened her cell phone, checking the time. "It's getting late, the mall will be closing soon. Let's hit the movie store then head home, kay?"

Everybody nodded, then they all stood up, right after Ino flung a piece of banana at Naruto's face. Sakura sighed when he started to chase her around.

- - -

All of them got back to Sakura's house, and they put all of their stuff in her room. Her parents would be out late that night, so they basically had the house to themselves. Sakura opened up her closet, turning around and grinning at all of them. "Alright, y'all, we'll be modeling!"

They clapped, sitting on the floor and watching Sakura. The pink haired girl smirked, pointing to her closet. "Each contestant will find something to wear, and they will put as much make-up on as they want. I get to choose who goes first!"

Naruto blinked when she pointed at him. "Me? I go first?? Aw man.."

"Hey, don't knock it til' ya try it!" She grinned, then pulled him up and shoved him in her giant closet. "Don't be long!"

"I'll try.." He frowned. He looked around, not knowing how big Sakura's closet had actually been until now. It must have been able to fit at least five people in it. He looked around, then found a section of dresses. Most of them were gothic lolita, which was a very good thing. Naruto had always loved this style of clothing, he just never got to wear or buy any of it. He pulled out a black lacey lolita dress, throwing all of his clothes off and putting it on. He found some things that would go with it, like a head band, a golden chain necklace, black and white striped panty hose, or whatever they were called, and gothic combat boots. Once he was wearing all of that, he looked to were there was a mirror and a small table with a chair. He sat down, putting eyeliner on.

'_Wow..' _He stared at himself. He had about as much eyeliner as Gaara always looked like he had, and black lipstick. He didn't think he would look that good as a girl, but apparently it really worked for him. He touched the scars on either sides of his face, frowning. '_If only I didn't have these.._'

He shrugged, standing and peeking out of the closet. He was surprised that everybody was already gasping. "Um.."

"Come out! Come out!" Sakura jumped up and down, and Naruto could have sworn that something seemed funny about this situation.

"Okay, okay." He smiled, sticking his toungue out at her. "Stop telling me to come out of the closet already."

After laughing for a second, he walked out of the closet, and all of the girls sat there, staring at him. He put his hands behind his back, looking down, blushing a bit. He felt a bit uncomfortable. Suddenly, they were all 'awwing' at him.

"So cute!!" Ino jumped up, beggining to jump up and down like Sakura.

"Totally!" TenTen grinned, nodding and giving Naruto a thumbs up. Hinata nodded slightly as well, aggreeing with the rest of them.

"Really..?" He looked up at all of them. "You think so?"

"Yeah!" Sakura smiled,twirling him around a few times. "Nobody would know that you're a dude!"

"Seriously!" Ino clapped her hands. "You should wear that on a date with Gaara one day!"

"You should!!" Sakura shouted, giving Ino a high five. "You can borrow it for as long as you like, I don't mind."

"Really??" He smiled, hugging Sakura. "Thank you! You think he'll like it?"

"I think he'll love it." TenTen said, still grinning. "I bet he'll get turned on."

"TenTen!" Naruto yelled, still smiling as he put his hands on his hips in fake dissaproval. "You've got it all wrong. He already is turned on by me."

They all laughed, and then Sakura went over to her bag, pulling out a magazine. "Hey, let's do a quiz! I was reading it over in this magazine I bought."

They all sat back down, watching Sakura. She flipped through the magazine, then smiled at Naruto. "You first, lover boy."

"Why am I always first..?" He sighed, then shrugged, smiling. "Okay, let's do this."

- - -

"Are you ready?"

"I suppose.." The red head replied, giving a low sigh. He would endure anything his sister made him go through, because he really wanted to be a better boyfriend for Naruto. He would do anything for Naruto, and today he would start, seeing as how he hand't been the best he could be before.

"Okay.. " She turned off the lights, clicking the play button on the DVD player and taking a seat beside Gaara. "Remember, you absolutely _need_ to pay attention. I will be asking you rights and wrongs and pros and cons when it's over. Got it?"

"Yeah.." He blinked, staring at the screen.

Could a movie really be that hard to handle..?

- - -

A/N: Thank you for reviewing! Next chapter should come fairly soon :D


	3. Chick Flicks

**In the Name of Soap Opera**

**Chapter Three**

**Chick Flicks**

_"I told you.."_

_"What did you tell me?" She spoke, her long silky black hair waving in the wind around them. She stared up into his eyes, eager to hear those three words again. "I want to hear it."_

_"I told you that you're the only one for me." He said, his voice strong, his arms now wrapped around her. "But I can't hurt you anymore. No matter what, I will screw up. I love you, but I can't handle hurting you anymore. I want you to escape."_

_"You always said.." She lifted her hands, staring deeply into his eyes as she played with his hair softly. "We're in this together. No matter what challenges face us, we will be a team until the end. That is the promise we gave each other."_

_"Suki.." He stared back into her eyes, and pulled her into a sweet kiss. When it ended, he pulled away, raising a hand to caress her cheek. "I love you."_

_"And I love you, Arashi.." She smiled, and they stood together in complete harmony. Suddenly it wasn't them and an army of enemies, it was just them. The noises around them dissapeared, and they stared into each others eyes. The door was kicked down, and a who dressed as a soldier rushed into the room. He pulled up the gun in his hands, pulling the trigger and shooting the two lovers apart._

_As Suki and Arashi fell, their eyes never looked away. As they lay there, dying beside each other, the memories they shared flashed through each of their minds. From the good, to the bad. Now, in their death beds, they had never been so close. Smiles rested on their faces, a red pool of blood beneath them. The blood slowly mixed together, and they both brought one of their hands to hold the other's._

_"I love you.." Arashi said, for the last time. Suki continued to smile, a single tear dripping from her eye. _

_"And I love you."_

_Fin._

The credits began rolling down the screen, a sad lullaby starting to play. Temari and Gaara sat on the couch, about four bags of chips sprawled out on the floor, three bottles of soda pop, a box of pizza, and each of them held a small tub of ice cream in their hands. Gaara pointed at the screen with his spoon, looking angry.

"What the hell? I thought love stories were supposed to end happy??" He looked at Temari, frowning. "They weren't supposed to die! They finally understood!"

"It was a happy ending." Temari said, looking back to Gaara and patting her wet cheek with a tissue. "Can you explain how it would be a happy ending?"

"Um.." He stared at her, a bit confused. "Well.. they died.. is that a happy ending?"

"No, don't think about the fact that they died, think past that. How were they acting?"

"Uh.." He blinked, putting his spoon back in his ice cream. "Well.. they were telling each other how they loved one another.."

"Good, good, what else?"

"Er.." He thought for a second. "They.. died..?"

She sighed, shaking her head. "Yes, Gaara, they died. They died _together_, they said how they felt, and they stayed together during the hardest parts of their life. They realized how much they loved each other, what they would do for each other, and that nothing else mattered. They died not caring that they were dying because they were together, and together they can accomplish anything."

"Oh.." He stared at her, thinking about it. "I guess it makes sense.. and the last thing they said to each other was that they loved each other.. instead of something mean that one might regret.."

"That's right!!!" Tmeari shouted, giving Gaara a big grin. "You learn't something, that's great! Well, I think you're done with chick flicks, now. Which means you're done for tonight. What time is it?"

He pulled out his cell phone, turning it on and looking at the time. "Uh.. 4:33AM.."

"Wow.." She got up and started to rush, picking everything up off the floor. "Jeez, we stayed up a little late, didn't we?"

"Yeah, we did." He got up and helped her. "I would have guessed since we watched seven movies.. I think that's the only time I'm ever going to do that."

"Haha.." She smiled at him, throwing out all the empty chip bags. "Don't worry, you're done with the flicks."

"So now that I _am_ done with movies.." He threw the bottles out, looking at Temari. "What comes next..?"

She grinned. "You'll see."

He frowned, and she laughed, waving and running up the stairs to her room. He sighed, finishing the cleaning job in the living room.

Something told him that the next day would be a long one.

- - -

"Novels?" He groaned, looking at the book in his hands. "But romance novels are always sappy.."

"Who told you that?" Temari said, holding up a few more books. Each of them had at least five hundred pages. "Take these to your room. It shouldn't take you that long to read them, I'm sure."

He took the books, giving a low sigh as he took them to his room. He shoved one in his bag, throwing it over his shoulder and heading back down the stairs. He had spent the whole weekend writing out what he learned from watching the movies. Apparently not that much, considering he had watched seven of them.

"Where's Kankuro?" He asked, having not seen his older brother that morning. Temari grabbed her keys off the counter, looking back to Gaara.

"Oh, he left early." When Gaara gave her a questioning look, she continued. "His wood shop teacher wanted him to go to class early today."

"Him and his wood shop.." He shook his head, giving a bit of a smirk. "I hope he doesn't bring another one of his creepy dolls home."

"Tell me about it!!" She laughed. "But he's obsessed with those puppets, so he most likely will. As long as he doesn't bring it over to me I don't care what he does with it."

"True enough." He walked towards the door, Temari following him. "If he brings it to me I'll rip it apart, then set it on fire and watch it burn."

"Sounds like fun, I might just join you." She grinned, then opened the door to her car. It was lucky that she was eighteen and able to drive, otherwise they wouldn't have been able to make it to school on time. After Gaara got in the passenger seat and put on his seat belt, she started the car. "Alright, don't forget that you need to read those books, okay?"

"Okay." He rubbed his temple, and Temari drove them to school.

- - -

"What's that?"

Gaara looked up from his book, a boy with brown shaggy hair leaning on his desk. The red head sighed, looking back to his book. "It's called a novel, it's not very surprising that you've no idea what it is. I suggest you check them out one day before you end up an adult who doesn't know how to read, Kiba."

"Hey, shuddup." Kiba frowned, then reached over and grabbed the book from his classmate. Gaara's eyes widened, and he stood, attempting to grab the book back. "Oh, what's this?"

Gaara growled, trying to reach over Kiba's shoulder. Too bad he was short, or else that could have worked. "Give it back, pooch!"

"_Oh, Aoi, I love you so._" Kiba read a line from the page Gaara had been at, acting out the scene. "_Dearest Daisuke, you are so romantic. I wish to just hold you in my arms like this forever._"

Finally, Gaara swirled around Kiba, grabbing the book fromhis hands and closing it. Though, Kiba went on, having memorized the next sentence.

"_Nothing will ever break us apart._" He got down on one knee, in front of the red head. Gaara's face had started turning pink, getting not only embarressed, but also incredibly pissed off. "_We'll be together forever and ever and ever._"

"Shut your trap.." Gaara growled, everybody in the room laughing at him. Kiba stood, looking slightly down at him, a smirk on his face.

"Aww, look, you're embarressed! How cute." He chuckled, looking around the room. "Hey, everybody! This guy is a sissy, he reads girly romance books!"

Gaara turned even more red, especially when everybody started to laugh louder. "What's your reason for this..?!"

Kiba crossed his arms, giving Gaara a wink before he walked off to his desk. As he passed him, he whispered something only loud enough for Gaara to hear. "Maybe I know a little more about novels than you think."

Gaara stared at him, then turned his head and quickly got back to his desk, shoving the book back into his bag and putting his head down. He could feel the eyes of his boyfriend staring into the back of his head, but couldn't bother to turn around. All he needed was both of them to be made fun of, that would make things so much worse.

Hopefully the class wouldn't plan to pester him for the rest of the year.

- - -

A/N: There's chapter three, next chapter coming fairly soon :)


	4. The Unwanted Hero

**In the Name of Soap Opera**

**Chapter Four**

**The Unwanted Hero**

"What's that book you're reading?"

Gaara closed his locker, turning his head and seeing his curious sort of a secret boyfriend. The only ones who knew about their relationship was Gaara's siblings, and a few of Naruto's friends. It was easy to keep it a secret when Gaara had never acted like a boyfriend to begin with. "Hello?"

"Huh?" He blinked, then shook his head, clicking the lock to his locker shut. "Oh.. nothing, don't worry about it."

"Hey.." Naruto frowned, putting a hand on the red head's shoulder. "Obviously I'm going to worry about it, I just watched you get made fun of without having a clue what was going on. You didn't even stick up for yourself! Just tell me what book you're reading, okay?"

"Hn.." He sighed, putting his forehead against his locker. "Serial Lovers.."

Naruto blinked at the name, then gave Gaara a confused look. "But.. you've always told me that romance novels are sappy and even you wouldn't read them..?"

"Usually I wouldn't.." He picked his bag up, looking around. "Temari asked me to read it, so I'm reading it. Nothing more than that, it's no big deal. Don't worry about it."

"Why are you acting so touchy on the subject?" Naruto frowned. "Are you hiding something?"

"No." Gaara answered, just a bit too quickly. Naruto looked upset, and Gaara sighed again. "Look, I just don't want to talk about it because I was made fun of, I don't want everybody to keep remembering and continuously making fun of me for it. I'd like it to die off, so don't worry about it, okay?"

"Whatever.." Naruto turned around, walking away from his boyfriend. Gaara watched him go, frowning at the fact that he wasn't following him. Deep within his mind there was something telling him to go after Naruto, but then again, there was also something telling him not to, and to just let Naruto have his space.

'_Damn it..'_ He threw his bag over his shoulder, turning the opposite way of Naruto, and taking a different exit from the school. Hopefully, Naruto wouldn't be too upset at him.

- - -

As he walked away from Gaara, Naruto's hand clenched at his chest, his aching heart beating quickly. He didn't know why it hurt so much, it wasn't as if Gaara had just broken up with him. Though, the fact that their relationship barely existed really did make the blond upset. Gaara almost never says he loves him, they rarely hug, they haven't kissed yet and it's already been half a year.

It was as if Gaara didn't even love him at all, and was only using him. The thought stabbed into Naruto's already aching heart, and he did his best to keep from crying his eyes out. His best wasn't really working for him, and he covered his mouth, stopping in the middle of the hallway. He fell to his knees, crawling over near the lockers and keeping his head down, sobbing quietly.

He hated crying. It seemed so pointless to him, especially when he cried at something that probably wasn't true. But how could he prove that Gaara even did love him? Yes, he had said it, but only once, and after Naruto had asked him why he never said it. But what was Naruto being used for when they didn't do anything, and he didn't have anything that Gaara really wanted? He couldn't just jump to conclusions, but there wasn't much he could do.

He couldn't help but cry because he believed Gaara didn't love him at all. He cried even more at how he couldn't prove it right or wrong. And he cried even _more_ at the fact that he was sitting in the school hallway, crying about how he thought his boyfriend didn't love him. Talk about lack of faith in someone. But was it wrong?

"Hey," The voice brought him out of his train of thought. His mind suddenly thought that it was Gaara, coming to cheer him up and tell him everything was okay. Even though the voice didn't necessarily sound like Gaara's, there weren't many voices that did, but his mind played a trick on him. He looked up, his expression hopeful, and then the hope disappeared when he found himself looking up at one of his classmates, not Gaara. "You okay..?"

He hid his face again, sobbing a little louder than before, feeling stupid that he would have hoped the person now at his side could have ever been Gaara. If there was one thing he did know about Gaara, it was that he liked to avoid people who were crying. It wasn't the boy's fault, but the only person Naruto wanted to cheer him up at the moment was Gaara, because Gaara was the only one who would be able to.

"What's wrong..?" The boy asked, and Naruto slowly lifted his head, wiping the flowing tears from his eyes. Once he blinked the blurriness away, he recognized the classmate as Sasuke, with his spiky black hair and eyes that slightly reminded Naruto of Gaara. Sasuke knelt down, his expression how it usually was. Blank. Just like Gaara. "Hey, hey, why is someone like you sitting here crying?"

"I-I.. just.." He wiped his eyes, sniffing. Sasuke waited, and Naruto wondered why this guy was even sitting here asking why he was crying at all. "It's nothing.. I-I'm alright.."

"Well, you don't look it." He smirked slightly, standing back up and holding out his hand, helping Naruto up. "You can talk to me, I wouldn't tell anybody."

"No, no, it's okay.. really.." Naruto gave a weak smile, picking up his bag. Oddly enough, he was feeling alright now. At least somebody had asked him if he was okay. "I was just upset at nothing.."

"Well, if you'd like, you can come over to my place. I don't have anything to do today, and maybe I can help cheer you up a bit." Sasuke offered, and Naruto thought for a second. How creepy was that?! Not creepy enough, apparently, because Naruto nodded. "Alright, let's go."

He smiled, walking out of the school with his new friend. It wasn't like he had anything better to do that day, and it wasn't as if Gaara would even care, at that. He wondered what Gaara would think if he saw Naruto walking with some other random dude.

He wouldn't be too happy, that's for sure.

- - -

"I think he's mad at me.."

"Yeah, probably." Temari replied, giving him a disappointed look. "If he said 'whatever' and just walked away, he is definitely not too happy."

"Man.." He rubbed his temples, having paced around the living room about twenty-five times by then. He was worried, and hoped Naruto wasn't angry. He didn't want to give Naruto any clues that he was aiming to better himself, he wanted it to be a surprise. But he ended up pissing Naruto off, which wasn't any better. "If I can't go through with this without hurting him, I don't think I can do it.."

"No, no, that's not it." Temari said, sitting on the couch and watching as Gaara paced around the living room again. He stopped, turning his head and staring at her. "You just need to hide it in a better, nicer way."

"Oh, right.." He grumbled, beginning to pace again. "Like that's so easy.."

"Hey, macho man, you haven't been giving this your all!" She crossed her arms, looking even more disappointed. "At all!"

"Because it seems so stupid!" He stopped, turning to her again and crossing his arms. "It doesn't seem to be helping, at all!"

"You know, sometimes the most stupid things really work." She frowned. "You can't just give up. You'd be giving up on not only yourself, but Naruto as well. Do you really love him?"

"Of course I do!!" He looked angry for a second, then sighed. "Yeah.. I know you're right, Temari.. I'm not going to give up.."

"Good." She smiled, standing up. "Because you've got to finish those books by the end of the week."

He looked annoyed. "Seriously?"

"Yep, because you don't want to take forever to be Naruto's perfect boyfriend, do you?" She grinned. "Not only that, but you'll be watching more than one soap opera when the time comes, so that will be taking the most time out of your entire training session. Now, get reading!"

"Maan.." He turned around, walking up the stairs to his room and getting ready to read all day long.

Gaara just hoped that Naruto wasn't as upset as he thought he was.

- - -

A/N: Thank you for all the reviews :D

This story seems to be going along very well. Next chapter coming soonish :)


	5. A Creepy Pervert?

A/N: Yes yes, I know my chapters are short! :( I will try to make them bigger, though, the only reason why they are short is because I'm trying to keep the 'suspense' going XD

I'll make them longer, I promise, and thank you for reviewing :P

**In the Name of Soap Opera**

**Chapter Five**

**A Creepy Pervert?**

"So, what kind of music do you like?"

"Uh.." Naruto stared at the raven haired boy, his eyes slightly wide. He was a bit uncomfortable, considering he really didn't know this kid all too much. It felt kinda.. wrong. "I like a lot of music.."

"Alright, mind if I put on my favourite station?" Naruto shook his head, and Sasuke turned the radio on. A rock song came on, and Naruto looked around the room. There were a few posters on the wall, one of them being some guy, or girl..? The blond wasn't too sure, but it was somebody with long black hair, who was kinda creepy. "That's Orochimaru, from the Legendary Sannins. The one that left the band and went solo."

"Oh.." Naruto blinked, turning his eyes away from the creepy Orochimaru guy. Besides the creepy poster, everything else seemed normal. Except for one thing.. "Hey, what's that?"

"Hm?" Sasuke looked to where Naruto had pointed, then shook his head. "Oh, that's nothing. Hey, you want something to eat?"

"O..kaay..." Naruto blinked, turning and looking at Sasuke. He got up when he was gestured to follow, and suddenly had a dirty thought, which really raised the creepy level. He suddenly felt even more uncomfortable. What if Sasuke tried anything?

"You good with ramen?"

The mention of ramen totally threw all Naruto's thoughts away, and he grinned, raising his fist in a prop position. "Am I ever!! You don't even need to ask that question!"

Sasuke stared at Naruto, then smirked slightly, nodding and getting two bowls of it ready. "Alright, good to know. Now I know what kind of food I'd take you to should I ever take you out to dinner."

"..." Naruto dropped his hand, all the thoughts from before the mention of ramen coming back to him. Well, it certainly did seem like Sasuke was into the sort of thing. He knew the creepy boy wasn't fully straight if at all. Which, caused some problems. "........"

"What?" Sasuke looked at Naruto, smiling. "You looked like you've seen a ghost. Am I that scary that even a small joke like that would freak you out?"

"Huh?" Naruto blinked, suddenly relieved. Thankfully, it was only a joke, and Naruto could relax. Of course some kid he barely knew wasn't hitting on him, especially the one that had been rumoured to be a ladies man, the guy all the girls wanted. "Oh, sorry. I just spaced out for a second."

"That's alright." Once the ramen was done, Sasuke brought the bowls to the table, sitting down at one of the chairs. Naruto sat down as well, already starting to wolf down the food in front of him. Sasuke stared, looking at his own bowl. It had been steaming hot. "Um.. careful?"

"It's so good!" Naruto exclaimed, grinning at Sasuke and finishing the rest of it before his friend had even touched his own. "Thanks, dude."

"That can't be healthy.." Sasuke smirked, beginning to eat his own slowly. "Do you always do that..?"

"Yeah!" He rubbed his belly, leaning back in the chair he was sitting in. "It's always so good when it's hot."

"I know something else that's good and hot, too." Sasuke continued to smirk, and Naruto's eyes widened. The blond smacked his head on the table, putting his arms around it so that he was as hidden as possible. "Hey, it was just a joke.."

"...." Naruto lifted his head, giving the evil eye of doom to Sasuke. "I dunno.. you said that last time.. are you sure I can trust that you're actually joking..?"

"Yeah, don't worry." Sasuke gave him a serious face. "I'm just joking, it's not going to happen. Yet."

"Wahh!?" He hid his face again, and Sasuke chuckled. Naruto looked up at him, looking somewhat worried. "Joking... right..?"

"Yeah!" Sasuke threw a noodle at Naruto, shaking his head slowly. "Whatever I say that's perverted usually means I'm joking."

"Okay.." Naruto pulled the noodle off his forehead, eating it. He gave Sasuke a suspicious look, putting his hand on his cheek and leaning on his elbow. "I'll make sure to remember that.."

"Please do." The creepy boy continued to eat his ramen. "That way I'll be able to surprise you later on."

"..." Naruto stared at him. "Joking.. joking.."

"Well actually.." He looked up from his ramen, his face blank. "That one wasn't."

"HUH!?" He fell out of his chair, making a loud 'oof' sound when he hit the floor. He stared up at Sasuke, giving a confused expression when the boy chuckled.

"I was joking again.." He shook his head. "You're too easy."

"Whaaat.. hey, that's not fair!" He sat up, pouting. "I can't take you seriously.."

"Ah, I'll stop." He shook his head, smirking. "But it really is kinda fun watching you get all freaked out like that."

"Humph.." He crossed his arms, turning his head. "You suck.."

"Only when asked." Naruto jumped up, pointing an angry accusing finger at Sasuke. He put his hands up in defense. "Okay, okay, I'll stop. but you asked for that one."

Naruto glared at him, then grinned, slapping his own forehead. "I guess maybe I kinda did.. but still!"

"That's the last perverted joke you'll hear tonight, alright?" Sasuke finished his ramen, taking both of the bowls and putting them in the sink. "I promise."

"Okay.." Naruto smiled, leaning against the wall. "You're a creepy pervert, you know that?"

"And you're the one in his house, you know that?" Sasuke chuckled after seeing Naruto scared face, and he crossed his arms. "It's getting late, you got any sort of curfew?"

"No, not really." He shook his head, knowing that there wasn't anybody at home who was waiting for him. "Do I need to be out by any certain time?"

"Nope, no one here but me." Sasuke smirked. "You can stay as long as you want. That might sound creepy, since we sorta don't know much about each other. And this might sound even creepier, but we could get to know each other better tonight if you'd like to stay over."

Naruto blinked. "Uh.. are you going to touch me?"

"What?" Sasuke laughed, covering his mouth. He made a face at Naruto. "Why would you ask that? I wouldn't, seriously."

"Well.." He looked around. "What would I do for clothes..? And a shower? And-"

"I'll wash the clothes you've got on while you take a shower."

"You don't have any video cameras in your bathroom.." He looked suspicious again. "Do you?"

"Why would I have video cameras in my bathroom?" Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "To tape myself taking a shower? No, I don't have any video cameras in my bathroom. And even if I didn't, I wouldn't have time to set one up before you went in."

"Alright.." Naruto smiled. He really didn't know why he was going to stay the night, was it because he couldn't bother going home? It didn't matter now, he was on his way to take a shower at the creepy perverted boy's house.

Was this because of Gaara?

- - -

"There was no answer.."

"Try again!" Temari crossed her arms, refusing to let Gaara stand up and walk away from the phone. "Step one, you need to tell him you love him without having him say it first."

He groaned, picking up the phone again and pressing the redial button. He waited for the ringing to stop, and when it did, he put the phone down. "No answer.."

"Well, try his cell phone." Temari watched as Gaara dialed the number into the phone, giving her an annoyed expression. She stuck her tongue out at him, and he sighed, putting the phone down. "Hey hey, what are you doing?"

"His phone is off.." Gaara frowned, and Temari shook her head slowly. "What..?"

"Phone again and leave a message." She raised her hand in a 'stop' motion before her little brother had a chance to protest against her orders. "Do it. You're going to tell him whether you like it or not."

"Man.." He picked the phone up again, dialing Naruto's cell number for the second time, and waiting until he could leave a message. He looked up at Temari, getting a reassuring smile from her, then inhaled when he heard the beep that told him to talk. "Um.. hey, Naruto.. I've been trying to call you.. I guess the reason why you're not answering is because you're mad at me, right..? Well.. I'm sorry, I want to talk to you, even if it's just you telling me off.. well, anyway, I don't think this thing has enough time for me to ramble on, so just call me back when you can, alright? ..I love you.."

He hung up, rubbing his temples. Temari clapped her hands, pulling him off the couch and into a hug. "Good job, Gaara! Very well done, you're doing good!"

"Thanks.." He pushed her off of him, staring at the ground. "I think I'll get back to reading now.."

"Alright." She put her hand on his shoulder. "Don't give up, okay?"

He nodded, then walked past her and up the stairs to his room. Once he got there, he shut the door, locking it, and sat down on his bed. He looked at his hands, not feeling good at all.

"Isn't it supposed to feel different when you say that to somebody you love..?" He frowned, putting his face in his hands. "Shouldn't I be happy.. excited.. anything?"

He sighed, laying back on his bed and staring at the ceiling. "I guess not.. no, not me. I'm happier than I had been before he came into my life, but.. I've never been excited.. and I've never felt as happy as I could.."

He shook his head slowly. "Maybe he _will_ get rid of me.. no matter what I do. It may just be fate.. and it would be my own fault, at that.. I always seem to screw things up for myself.."

Temari had walked up the stairs to ask Kankuro something, walking by Gaara's door to get there. She stopped when she heard her little brother talking, going to the door. She was about to knock to ask if everything was alright, but she found herself listening at the door to what he was saying.

"What if he's at some other guy's house right now?" His expression suddenly seemed worried. "That's probably why he wasn't at home.. and why his cell was off.. he never has his cell phone off.."

Temari listened, frowning. She could have knocked at that moment, but something held her back when Gaara started talking again. "He's with some other guy.. he finally found himself a hero.. soon he'll be dropping the zero.."

"No.." He shook his head. "He's not cheating on me.. is he? Can I even consider it cheating? What have I ever done for him..? He's done everything for me, all I'm doing is bringing him down.."

Temari kept herself from knocking the door down and telling her brother everything was fine. "Maybe he's better off with his hero.."

Finally, she knocked on the door, and everything went quiet. She listened as he unlocked the door, peeking out at her. "Hey."

"What.." He stared at her, his expression blank. "You here to give me another book.."

"No, no." She smiled sadly, looking to Kankuro's door. "I was here to ask Kankuro something, actually. But.. uh, after I'm going to go out for a walk. Would you like to come?"

"No thanks.."

"Oh.." She looked down. "Alright.. well, try to get some rest tonight, okay?"

He nodded, closing the door. She frowned, turning and going to Kankuro's door. She knocked, and within a few seconds the door was open. "Hey, Kankuro. Let's go for a walk."

"Um.. okay..?" He blinked, and she smiled, giving him a thumbs up before turning again and walking down the stairs. He stared at her, knowing that when Temari wanted to take a walk, it usually meant that there was something she needed to talk about. He shrugged, closing the door to his room and getting ready.

One could only wonder what was on that girl's mind.

- - -

A/N: I tried making this chapter longer, so hopefully that worked out for me. Sasuke may be a little OOC, or maybe a lot(depends on how you look at it), but I decided to make him somewhat of a pervert :P

I figured this story needed at least one, so yeah, apparently it's Sasuke XD

Anyway, thanks for reviewing, I'll get the next chapter started :)


	6. Ditched

**In the Name of Soap Opera**

**Chapter Six**

**Ditched**

"So, what's on your mind?"

"A lot, actually." Temari sighed, putting her hands in her pockets as they walked down the street. Kankuro put his hands behind his head, walking beside her. "Most of it is about Gaara."

"Gaara?" He gave her a confused look. She smiled nervously at him, and he got even more confused. "What? What about him..?"

"Well.." She turned her gaze back forward, thinking for a second. Kankuro didn't know about Gaara's boyfriend. In fact, he didn't even know his little brother was into that. For all he knew, Gaara was straight. "You see.. um.. I'm not even sure if I should tell you or not.."

"What is it?" He suddenly looked worried. "What are you guys hiding from me? Did you two steal something? Did you kill somebody..? Is Gaara at home breaking my puppets at this very second?!"

"No," She laughed at her brother, apparently he would care more if his siblings broke his silly dolls then he would if they killed somebody. "It's nothing like that.. I'm just not sure if I should tell you, it's something that Gaara should be the one to do.."

"What?" Kankuro gave a suspicious look. "Is it bad..?"

"Not at all.." She shook her head, then stopped, staring at him curiously. "Unless you're homophobic."

"..." He blinked, stopping as well. "So, he's gay? Oh, woopdy do, I was all worried that it was something seriously bad! Why'd you have to go make it all dramatic?"

"Well, it's more than that." She said, starting to walk again. Kankuro followed along, waiting to hear what she had to say. "He's having boyfriend troubles.. and he had upset his boyfriend today. He's worried that his boyfriend is at some other boy's house and is going to dump him sometime soon."

"And..?" Kankuro frowned, staring at her as they walked. "What am I supposed to do?"

"No, it's not what _you're_ supposed to do, it's what _we_ are going to do to help." She smiled at him, turning her head to look forward again.

"How are _we_ going to help?" He said, not really seeing anything they could do that would be effective. "Shouldn't he solve his own problems?"

"Silly Kankuro," She smirked. "He doesn't know how to solve his own problems, he's already giving up. Theres a line that needs to be crossed at some point, you see. And that line needs to be crossed when the person on the other side of it gives up."

"..Okay.." He raised an eyebrow, and she smiled back at him. "So.. what are we going to do..?"

"We need to think of something romantic." She grinned, stopping and clapping her hands together, keeping them there and staring at the sunset. "Something for him to do for his boyfriend that will totally sweep the boy off his feet!"

"Um.. and.. you're asking _me_ to help you with this..?" He raised both of his eyebrows. "I'm not exactly the most romantic person ever.."

"Oh, shut up, you're the only other person who can help me." She put her hands on her hips. "Now, give me something off the top of your head that is romantic in any way."

"Uh.." He thought for a second. "A serenade..?"

"Perfect!!" Temari gasped, putting her arms up. "See, you're kinda romantic!!"

Kankuro's eyes widened as Temari gave him a flying hug, then jumped a few times, grabbing his arm and dragging him back to the house.

- - -

_Naruto stood at the edge of a canyon, the wind blowly gently around him. He stared into the soft orange, red, and yellow horizon, his eyes glistening. A small, but happy smile rested on his face, and he held something in his hands. He looked down, frowning at the sight of it, and turned his head at the sound of the most beautiful, unique voice he had ever heard in his life. _

_"Naruto.." The soft distant voice brought an even brighter smile to the blonde's face, and his eyes sparkled when his eyes fell upon the love of his life. The pale skinned, red haired, sea green eye'd wonder. How had he ever been given such a beautiful person? Though, Naruto's smile faded when he realized something wasn't right. _

_"G-Gaara..??"_

"Wake up.."

"Huh..?"

"I said wake up!" Naruto's eyes shot open, and he found himself staring up at none other than Sasuke. Sasuke smiled, raising an eyebrow. "Finally."

"Oh.." Naruto sat up, yawning and rubbing his eyes. "What the.. what time is it?"

"Uh.. 1:37PM.." Sasuke replied, sitting at the edge of the geust bed and giving a bit of a smirk. "You-"

"I selpt in?!" The blond cut him off, jumping out of the bed and falling onto the floor. His hair was messed up, giving him a bit of an FF look. If Gaara had been watching through a window or something, it would probably look as though Naruto had done something naughty last night with the raven haired boy. "Oh no, damn it I'm supposed to meet Gaara after school today!!"

"Who's Gaara?" Sasuke raised an eyebrow, and Naruto sat up, blinking nervously. He couldn't tell Sasuke that he had a boyfriend. One, because what if this guy spread it around? And two, what if he realized that Naruto was into that and decided to try to get with him? Either way, it wouldn't exactly work out all too well, so he kept his mouth shut. "Hello..?"

"Huh?" The blond said dumbfoundedly, looking up to Sasuke and giving a big goofy grin. "Oh, sorry! I kinda spaced out for a second. Gaara's one of my best friends, and uh.. we were going to work on a project that we've got in literature class.."

"I see." Sasuke nodded, and Naruto was relieved that the boy seemed to believe him. "You want breakfast?"

"Breakfast?" Naruto stood up, reaching his arms up and stretching. "More like a late lunch."

"Whatever." Sasuke smirked, standing up as well. "I'll be downstairs making something to eat for us. Get dressed and come down when you're done, kay?"

"Alright.." Naruto watched as Sasuke walked out of the room, closing the door behind him. The blond put his hand on his forehead, groaning quietly. He felt somewhat stupid. "Damn.. Gaara's going to be so upset.."

He sighed, turning around to the bed and seeing his clothes neatly folded at the end of it. He picked up his shirt, slipping it on as he thought. '_Who knows, Gaara probably won't even be upset. He would probably be glad that I wasn't at school today, if he felt anything towards it at all. He'd most likely think of it as free time.._'

Naruto frowned, doing up the button on his jeans. He turned around again, opening the door to the room and walking out, going into the bathroom down the hall. After turning on the light and looking in the mirror, he blinked, his expression looking sort of bewildered. "What the..? I look like a super saien!"

Sasuke looked to the stairs, smiling and shaking his head, going back to making eggs and bacon. Not too long after, Naruto was downstairs, sitting at the table, his hair looking normal now. He grinned when Sasuke placed a plate of food in front of him, then sat across from him with his own.

"Just in time, eh?" The blond grinned, picking up a piece of bacon and chowing down. "It's been a while since I had eggs and bacon. In fact, I can't remember the last time I had it. Thanks a bunch!"

"No problem." Sasuke smirked, eating his food at his own pace, watching as Naruto practically shoved all of the food down his throat at once. "I swear one day you're going to choke on your food. What's worng, don't like it? Need to get it all over with at once?"

"Huh?" Naruto swallowed his food, now chewing on his last piece of bacon, all the rest of his food gone. "No, actually. Your food is amazing, I haven't met anybody who could cook like you in my life!"

"Seriously?" Sasuke raised his eyebrows, and Naruto nodded. "Huh. Well, you're welcome then."

Naruto smiled as he finished his food before his friend once again, leaning back in his chair and patting his stomach. "I should come here more often, heh.."

"You can if you want." The raven haired boy smiled, finishing his own food and taking the plates to the sink. "This is my place, and it doesn't matter to me how long you stay."

"Cool." Naruto looked at the clock. It was half past two now, and from where Sasuke lived, it didn't seem like they'd even be able to make it to last period. "I guess were not going to school today, huh.."

"Well," Sasuke sat down again, putting his elbows on the table and resting his chin on his hands. "Look at the bright side, we've got a free day today to go wherever."

"I guess you're right.." Naruto sighed, smiling. "I don't think Gaara would mind if I didn't show up, anyway."

"Alright," Sasuke smirked, standing up. "Where would you like to go?"

"I wanna.." He thought for a second, then jumped up, grinning. "I want to go swimming!"

"Okay then," Sasuke nodded once, smiling and turning to leave the kitchen. "Let's go then."

- - -

Gaara leaned against Naruto's locker, looking to each end of the hallway. He watched as other students from the school passed by, keeping an eye out for his favourite blond. He had been waiting for about ten minutes. Giving a quiet sigh, he shoved his hands in his pockets and looking to the floor.

Maybe Naruto was just running late today? Gaara supposed that his boyfriend had come to school after first period, which was their class together, and maybe he was doing something before he went to his locker?

'_Who am I kidding.._' He looked up, watching as the number of people in the hallways slowly decreased. He looked around again, then pulled out his cell phone. Surely Naruto would have it on today.. right? He texted the blond, asking where he was, then stared at his phone as the message failed to send. '_What am I thinking, theres no signal here.._'

He put his cell phone back in his pocket, frowning. Suddenly, he seen Sakura pass by, and he put up his hand. "Hey, Sakura.."

She stopped, turning and looking at him. She smiled, thought, her expression seemed slightly sympathetic. "Hi, Gaara. How are you?"

"Alive." He replied, then looked down the hall again. "You know where Naruto is..?"

"Oh.." She looked down the hall as well. "He didn't come to school today.. he wasn't at class in last period, so.."

"Oh.. okay.." Suddenly, all of Gaara's hopes fell to the ground and smashed into little bits. His eyes turned to the floor, watching it happen while nobody else could. "Thanks.. I'll see you around.."

"No problem, Gaara.." She looked down, then turned around and went on her way. Gaara stared at the ground, unable to take his eyes off of his shattered hopes that nobody else could see. Things would have been better if Naruto had at least called him, or texted him, turned his phone on. He suddenly got a bit of his hopes back, and he left the school standing outside. He texted again, waiting as it went through.

"Please.. reply to me.." He stared at the phone, waiting for a text to get back to him saying 'I'm alright' or 'Sorry I couldn't come today, I'm at home sick'. No such luck, apparently, because Gaara had stared at that phone, waiting for more than ten minutes. Usually it took Naruto less than five to send a text.

He shut the phone, closing his eyes and putting one hand in his pocket, then other still holding onto the closed cell phone. His eyes shut tight and his hand curled around the phone tighter, ready to smash it. He sighed, opening his eyes and dropping his hand. There was no use in getting upset, it wouldn't change anything. He shoved his phone in his pocket, pushing himself off the wall and walking home alone.

- - -

A/N: I'm feeling pretty bad for Gaara lmao Anywho, thanks for reviewing, next chapter coming soon :D


	7. Stupid Mistakes

**In the Name of Soap Opera**

**Chapter Seven**

**Stupid Mistakes**

"Cannonball!"

Naruto jumped into the pool, right beside Sasuke. He splashed his creepy friend, and a few strangers, who had heard Naruto's shout and turned their faces. After coming back up to the surface, Naruto grinned, looking at his friend. All of Sasuke's hair was in his face, covering it entirely. "Ha ha, you look like a sea monster!"

"Oh ha ha, very funny." He moved his hair out of his face, sticking his tongue out at the blond. Getting the same in return, he smirked, leaning back and ducking his hair into the water, then pulled his head back up, all of his hair out of his face and looking like he gelled it all back. "You could have disturbed some people, you know."

"Ah, they don't care." He grinned, floating in the water near Sasuke. "They're wet anyway."

"Talk about consideration." Sasuke laughed, following Naruto's floating body. They had been in the pool for two hours, from 2:30 until 4:30, then got out for an hour to eat something, then came back. It was 7PM now, and not many people left in the pool. The sun had already started going down, but Sasuke didn't really care, it beat staying at home. "We've almost got the pool to ourselves."

"Yeah.." Naruto smiled, still floating. They had a goal to stay in the pool until everybody left, and it looked like they were going to succeed. "And for some reason, that sounds really creepy, Sasuke."

"Sorry.." He smirked, lightly pushing Naruto along in the water, moving around the pool. "So, what's your favourite colour?"

"Huh?" Naruto blinked, turning his head and looking at his staring at him in confusion for a second, he turned his head and looked back to the sky. "Um.. I'd have to say orange, though I like a lot of things that are red."

"Hm.." Sasuke thought for a second, and the blond was slightly glad that his creepy friend didn't know what Gaara looked like, if he even knew him at all. "Mine is purple."

"Purple..?!" Naruto held back a laugh, and Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "Yeesh, that's my least favourite colour.. hehehe.."

"I could say the same about orange." Sasuke smirked, and Naruto stuck his tongue out at him. "I won't bother asking what your favourite food is, I think I already know.. um, if you ever left Japan, where would you go?"

"Eh.." He closed his eyes, thinking for a second. He thought of where Gaara wanted to one day go. He remembered that conversation they had, Gaara told Naruto about how he would go to one place if he could ever leave Japan, but he wasn't getting his hopes up on petty dreams. "I'd.. I'd go.. to Australia.."

"Really?" Sasuke continued to push the blond around the pool, watching as a couple got out of the pool and left. "Huh.. I'm not sure where I would go.."

"Why are you asking me all of these questions..?" Naruto asked, opening his eyes and staring up at the sky again. "Or do you even have a reason?"

"I wanted to play twenty one questions.." Sasuke smirked, looking up as well. "What was one of the best days of your life?"

"Well.." Naruto thought, the only thing he was able to think about being his boyfriend. So, he supposed he would need to make something up. "Um.. I don't remember.."

"I think I'd have to say today was the best day of my life." Naruto turned his head, giving Sasuke a slightly confused look. "I don't think I've ever had this much fun before."

"Really..?" Naruto blinked, grinned. He was glad he could at least make one person happy. His grin slowly faded as he thought about Gaara again, reminded of how he could never be enough for the red head. Suddenly, he felt his head bash off the wall of the pool, and his floating status was ruined, leaving him to flail around before he could regain his position. He grabbed onto the edge, rubbing his head and glaring at Sasuke. "Hey, what did ya do that for?"

"Sorry..!" Sasuke laughed, grabbing onto the edge as well. "I didn't notice you were so close to the wall.."

"Thanks." Naruto said sarcastically, then pulled himself out of the pool, sitting on the edge with his legs still in the water. He was glad his swim shorts didn't go against him. It happened to him before, and it wasn't that fun. "Man, I'm all pruned up.."

"You want to leave, now?" Sasuke asked, staying in the water. "It is kinda getting late, isn't it?"

"Yeah.." Naruto pulled his legs out of the pool, standing up and walking over to their stuff. He grabbed a towel, wrapping it around himself and shivering. "Jeez.. it's cold..!"

"Ha ha!" Sasuke swam over to the steps, walking out of the pool and grabbing his own towel, putting it over his shoulders. "Nah, not really."

"Maybe for you.." He felt his teeth start to chatter, and he ran over the the men's changing room, shouting back at Sasuke. "Get the stuff, will ya?"

"Sure, sure.." Shaking his head with a smirk, Sasuke picked up all of the things him and Naruto had brought to the pool, following his friend to the changing room.

- - -

"Come on, I'm sure he was at home sleeping the whole time."

"No, I bet he wasn't.." Gaara sighed, leaning against the wall and putting a hand through his hair. "He would have replied to my text by now.."

"Don't talk like that," Temari crossed her arms, frowning. "Naruto wouldn't cheat on you."

"Considering who I am," He looked up at the ceiling, dropping his hand by his side. "I wouldn't be surprised if he was right now."

"Gaara!!" Temari shouted, uncrossing her arms and putting her hands on her hips, her expression enraged. "Don't you ever say something like that in front of me again! You should listen to yourself, you'd be ashamed!"

"Why.." He looked at her, his face blank. "Because I'm worthless and don't deserve anybody?"

Temari's rage flared and she lifted her arm, slapping him across the face. The loud 'whap' that came from the impact of her hand hitting his cheek sounded out through the house, and suddenly everything went quiet. Temari pulled her hand back, her face softening and the hand she had just hit him with now covering her mouth. "Oh my.. I'm sorry, Gaara..!"

His head had been turned to the side, and he didn't move. His eyes were closed, his cheek slowly going red from her slap, and the two of them stood there quietly for a bit. Steps could be heard from the stairs, and Kankuro came down, walking up from behind Temari and looking over her shoulder to Gaara. "Hey.. what's going on..?"

Gaara's eyes shot open, and he pushed past his siblings without saying anything, walking up the stairs. Kankuro blinked, watching his little brother, then flinching when he heard a door slam. He turned his head, walking around Temari and putting a hand on her shoulder. "You alright..?"

"No.." She lowered her head, dropping her hand and staring at the floor. "I don't know why I just hit him.. I shouldn't have done that.. I'm lucky he's even talking to me about his problems, I probably just ruined all of that.."

"Hey, calm down." Kankuro said, putting his other hand on her other shoulder, standing in front of her and lowering his head so he could look her in the eye. "I'm sure you're just frustrated.. don't worry about it, okay?"

"How can I not worry about it?!" She lifted her head, on the verge of tears. "I just hit my little brother in the face because he was depressed at the fact that his boyfriend might be cheating on him!"

"Ouch.." He winced, taking his hands off her shoulders. "Yeah.. uh.. it might be a while before he forgives you for that.."

"Kankuro!" She groaned, turning around and plopping herself down on the couch. "Thanks for cheering me up, you loser."

"No problem." He sat down beside her, but before his backside touched the couch, her foot was on it, kicking him off. He grunted when his face hit the floor, glaring up at Temari. "Fine, I won't cheer you up, then."

"Good, you wouldn't help much, anyway." She crossed her arms, turning her head. He looked annoyed, standing up and crossing his arms as well.

"Look, if Gaara knows you didn't mean it, he'll forgive you sooner." Kankuro said, watching as she turned her head and stared up at him, raising her eyebrows. "What..?"

"You can talk to him for me." She crossed her legs, tilting her head slightly. "It's the least you could do for me."

"Yeah, right." Kankuro snickered, putting one hand on his hip and lifting the other one as he talked. "No thanks."

"Come on!" She jumped up, raising her arms slightly on either side of her, her palms facing the ceiling. "Please?!"

"Psh." He waved his hand in front of his face, turning and heading towards the stairs. "Nuh uh, no way."

"Please?!" She grabbed onto the back of his shirt. "I'm begging you!"

"Nope." He shook his head, turning his head slightly. "No can do."

"Why not?" She frowned, and he shrugged.

"Because I don't want to die."

"Kankuro!" She pulled on his shirt, pouting. "I don't want him mad at me forever!"

"Not my problem." He smirked, and her mouth shot open. After she let him go, he walked up the stairs, and she crossed her arms, her mouth still wide open in shock.

"You suck!" She shouted, turning around and sitting down on the couch again. Putting her hands beside her mouth, she shouted to him again. "Traitor!"

"I'm not listening!" She heard him reply, then listened as she heard his door close. Sighing, she put her elbow on the arm of the couch, resting her chin on the back of her hand. After looking around a few times, she smacked her fist on the couch, grumbling to herself.

"He sucks.."

- - -

Naruto locked the door after he got in to his empty yet filthy apartment. He sighed, taking off the jacket Sasuke had lent him since that night had been slightly cold out. He wasn't exactly sure how he would explain the jacket to Gaara, considering Naruto had never worn leather in his life, and hoped the red head wouldn't show up to his house unexpectedly.

"Heh.." Naruto shook his head as he hung the jacket over a chair at the table. He knew Gaara wouldn't spontaneously show up at his house, so he decided not to worry about anything. He headed towards the kitchen, preparing a cup of instant ramen. As he did, he thought about his boyfriend, wondering where he was and what he was doing.

As he sat down at the table with his now finished ramen, a thought suddenly occurred to him. What if Gaara didn't want him anymore..? He stared down at his food, his eyes widening slightly. What if Gaara didn't love him anymore? What if he was with somebody else at this very moment? Maybe that was why he hadn't tried to get a hold of him. Suddenly, he jumped up, turning to the back of his chair and digging through the leather jacket.

Pulling out his cell phone, he flipped it open, cursing when he realized that he had forgot to turn it on. He turned it on, biting his lip. His heart stopped when a box came up, telling him he had one new text message and one new voicemail. He opened the text message, his heart suddenly starting to race when it was from Gaara. '_Where are you, love..?_'

"Oh no.." He sat down on the chair, half of him in shock that Gaara had actually called him 'love', and the other half feeling incredibly stupid. He quickly sent a his reply, saying 'Sorry! I forgot to turn my cell on, I'm at home. I slept in late today, I would have called you back but I didn't wake up until a few hours ago..'. He hated lying to Gaara, but he didn't want him to get upset that he was with some other guy that day. There wasn't anything between him and Sasuke, but he didn't really know how Gaara would react, so he kept it quiet.

He then put the phone to his ear, listening to the voicemail he had been sent. To his surprise, it was Gaara again. His voice seemed slightly harsh the more the message went on, as if he were upset. Gaara, upset? "_Um.. hey, Naruto.. I've been trying to call you.. I guess the reason why you're not answering is because you're mad at me, right..? Well.. I'm sorry, I want to talk to you, even if it's just you telling me off.. well, anyway, I don't think this thing has enough time for me to ramble on, so just call me back when you can, alright? ..I love you._."

His eyes widened, and he felt the phone slip from his hand. He snapped out of his daze just at that second, and caught it right before it hit the floor. He stayed in the position, staring at the phone. Gaara had actually said he loved him. Without him asking for it, without any hints. He said it. And by the tone of his voice when he did, Naruto knew that he meant it.

His eyes watered up, and he closed the phone. He must have ruined things for them. Gaara wasn't with somebody else, he was probably at home, wondering what he did wrong. '_How could I be so stupid..!?_'

He put the phone down, leaning his elbows on the table and putting his face in his hands. This must have been the stupidest mistake of his life. Then again, he had made a lot of other stupid mistakes, but if this had ruined his relationship with Gaara, it would definately be one of the most stupid mistakes he had ever made. A soft ring tone played, and he looked down at his cell phone. He quickly grabbed it, recognizing the ring tone to be the special one he had set just for Gaara's number.

'Are you okay?' Even the most simple of words brought hope to Naruto, and he quickly texted back to his lover. '_I'm alright, are you?_'

He waited for a minute, smiling slightly when he got the reply. Though, he frowned again after reading it. 'No.'

'_What's wrong?_' He sent a message back, his eyebrows arched as he became worried and upset. Maybe this was his fault? He got the next mesage, reading it. 'I don't want to talk about it right now. Can I come over?'

Naruto's heart raced, and he thought of what he should say. He wanted to see Gaara, but he wasn't ready to that night. He was still tired, considering he had stayed up late and hadn't really slept all too much, despite what he had told his boyfriend. '_Why, are you okay?_'

He wondered if he should have just said 'sure, come on over', but he couldn't rewrite the message now. He stared at the phone after reading Gaara's reply, and suddenly felt his heart ache. 'Nevermind, don't worry about it. I shouldn't be bothering you, anyway.'

"Wait..!" he wrote his reply, asking Gaara what was wrong again and that he wasn't bothered. He waited, closing his phone and putting his face on the table when he got no reply. He hoped Gaara was okay, and now he was even more worried. He hadn't spent a day with Gaara for almost a week now.

He'd make sure tomorrow was a special day, just for the two of them.

- - -

A/N: Ey, thanks for the reviews. I think I made this chapter pretty long, kinda proud XD

Anyway, next chapter coming soon :)


	8. Laziness and Cleaning Duties

**In the Name of Soap Opera**

**Chapter Eight**

**Laziness and Cleaning Duties**

"What?"

He pulled the blanket over his face, glaring in the darkness. He hadn't slept that night, and he wasn't in the mood to go to school. He heard another knock, and growled. "What?!"

"Uh.." Kankuro's voice could be heard from the other side of the door, and Gaara peeked out from under the covers. "Are you going to school today..?"

"No." He said, glaring at the door. "Go away."

"Oh.. alright." Gaara waited until he couldn't hear Kankuro anymore, then grumbled. Naruto had texted him last night, and Gaara was glad that he did. Thankfully, he really was home sleeping, and Temari was right. He sighed, feeling somewhat bad. Though, he didn't understand why he was feeling bad when _she_ was the one who slapped him in the face. He probably felt bad because he knew she felt bad.

He'd apologize to her when she got back from school, because if he didn't, he would probably go crazy without having her there to ask for advice and to talk to about his boyfriend troubles. He knew Naruto probably would have dumped him by now if it wasn't for Temari, he had her to thank for that much. She deserved a thank you, as well.

He pushed the blankets off of him, standing up and stretching. He wasn't in the mood to lay down and do nothing all day long, so he started to clean up the very small mess that was in his room. Soon enough, he was cleaning the bathroom, then the kitchen, then the living room. He huffed, looking around once he was done.

"Now I've got nothing to do.." He mumbled, then smirked, remembering that their garage was full of junk and all that useless nonsense. He went outside, opening the door to the garage and stepping into the chaotic mess. No wonder Temari hadn't put the car in the garage in so long. He looked around, then shrugged, dragging all the things that wasted the most space out, and getting started on organizing everything.

"What do we even need this for..?" He stared at the wrapped up rug in the corner, slapping his hand on the side and turning his face, coughing at all of the dust that exploded off of it. He waved a hand in front of his face, trying to catch his breath again. Dragging the rug outside as well, he coughed a few more times before he could finally breathe properly again.

Going back into the garage, he finished organising everything. With the broom and dustpan he had found, he began sweeping the floor. He stopped, turning when he heard a loud honk from a car horn, and walked out of the garage, looking at the car in front of the drive way. He waved, and Kankuro stepped out of the drivers side.

"Hey, Gaara.." He blinked, walking over and standing beside him, looking at all of the stuff in the drive way. "Uh.. what are you doing?"

"Cleaning out the garage.." He replied, walking back to the spot he had been sweeping, beginning to sweep again. "I figured it should have been cleaned out sooner or later.."

"Here, I'll help you out." He smiled, walking into the house to get a garbage bag. Temari walked over to Gaara, smiling.

"Hey.." She watched as he swept, then sighed quietly. "Look, I-"

"I'm sorry." He said, stopping and turning to her. "You were right. I don't blame you for slapping me."

"What..?" She gave a confused look. "No, Gaara, I wasn't right. I shouldn't have slapped you, you were upset and stressed out about a lot."

"I shouldn't have said what I said, that wasn't fair to you." He started sweeping again. "Let's just forget about it, alright?"

She smiled, pulling him into a hug. "I wouldn't want it any other way."

He stared at the floor, then looked at her again when she pulled away from the hug.

"So, did you hear from Naruto?" She asked, and he nodded. Smiling, she put a hand on his shoulder. "You two love each other. I know you trust him, but you can't get all worried that he's cheating, alright?"

He nodded, then swept again. She laughed at him, and he looked at her once again, confused.

"You've been sweeping in that same spot this whole time."

- - -

"I guess he wasn't feeling well.."

Naruto sighed, leaving the school with a frown. He was going to make it up to Gaara that day, but since the red head hadn't shown up, he couldn't. He felt even more lousy, sighing as he walked out the front door. Suddenly, he was pulled back and his mouth was covered. His eyes widened, and he struggled to get free.

"Hey, cool it Naru-chan!"

Naruto stopped, blinking as he recognized the voice. The hold on him loosened, and he jumped away, turning and staring at the person. "Wha... Shikamaru..?!"

"Yeah." He smirked, putting his hands in his pockets. "Sorry about that. Choji's looking for me, I kinda stole his buns."

"His buns..?" Naruto stared at his fake kidnapper, then started laughing loudly. He quieted down when Shikamaru held his hands up, making 'shh' sounds. "Ha ha.. why'd you steal his buns?"

"Because they're famous for tasting good." That made Naruto burst out laughing again, and Shikamaru glared at him. "What's your problem?"

"Sorry.. sorry.." Naruto covered his mouth. "I think I got corruptness rubbed off on me."

"Well, that's great." Shikamaru said sarcastically, giving a low sigh. "Why'd I have to pull one of the loudest people I know back with me.."

"I'm sorry, Shika, I promise I won't be louder than a whisper." He grinned, then raised an eyebrow at him. "But you're not the one who's all crazed up on food.. why would you go steal one of Chojis... pfft... _buns_, wouldn't that take too much effort?"

"Yeah, it did." He lifted a hand and put it on his shoulder, massaging it as if he had just worked out all day long. "But I was hungry, and I've been waiting to try one for a while. He wouldn't give me one, so when he turned his back I grabbed one and ran off. I'll tell you now, never get Choji angry. Ever."

"Good to know." Naruto looked around, now kind of nervous. "Should we get out of the doorway, then?"

"I think so.." He nodded, then walked down the stairs with Naruto, who continued to look out for Choji. "I don't think I should go back to my place just yet. You got any place in mind?"

"You can stay at my place for a bit." Naruto said, looking at Shikamaru. "It's a bit messy, so you might not like it.."

"Better then getting killed by Choji." Shikamaru groaned, and Naruto laughed at him. They walked to the blonde's house, and Naruto turned his attention to Shikamaru.

"So, what's the brainiac doing getting Choji all pissed off over his buns?" Naruto giggled at the word buns again, and Shikamaru rubbed his temple.

"So immature.." He mumbled to more himself than Naruto, then looked at the blond. "I knew he'd never let me try one, so I decided to get one while I could. Like I said, I was hungry."

"Alright then." Naruto grinned, putting his hands behind his head in a laid back position. "So, you couldn't just go buy one, you had to get Choji mad?"

"His mother made them, so no, I couldn't go buy one." He shook his head. "And that mom is worse than her son. If Choji wasn't her child, he'd be dead before she gave him any of those buns. Which is what would happen to me, I'm sure."

"Ouch." Naruto giggled, walking up to his apartment building and leading Shikamaru up to his apartment. Unlocking the door, he welcomed his friend to the messy glory. "Sorry 'bout the mess, Shika."

"Don't worry about it.." He shrugged, walking over to the table and sitting down in one of the chairs. "Ahh, man.. I haven't had a chance to relax all day.."

"Glad I could help." Naruto smirked, setting his bag down on the couch in the living room. "And don't worry about making a mess, I'm sure it wouldn't do anything."

Shikamaru nodded, leaning back in the chair. Naruto pulled his cell phone out, turning it on and frowning when he didn't have any messages.

"Waiting for a call?" Shikamaru asked, his head turned so he could look at Naruto. When the blond nodded, the lazy boy raised an eyebrow. "From who?"

"Gaara.." Naruto replied, sighing and walking over, taking a seat in the chair next to his friend's. "I think he's upset.."

"You guys still dating?" Shikamaru leaned on the table, staring at Naruto. "How long has it been, now?"

"A bit more than half a year." Naruto replied, blushing when Shikamaru's eyebrows raised. Shikamaru was the only one of his guy friends that Naruto had told about his relationship with Gaara. "I know, eh..?"

"Wow, that's a long time. Especially for Gaara, considering how he is." Shika smirked, and Naruto's blush darkened a bit. "Just think, in two in a half years you two could be called husband and husband."

"Oh real funny, Shika." Naruto crossed his arms, grinning as the blush on his face stayed and darkened even more. "Like we'd last that long, anyway.."

"I wouldn't put it past Gaara.. if he wasn't with _you._" He said, and Naruto blinked, giving a confused expression. "Don't you see? He was the kid that everybody hated when they weren't scared of him. Even his own brother and sister were terrified of him, I hear. He was reckless, and didn't care for anybody, ever. I heard he sent somebody to the hospital once, just out of anger."

Naruto frowned, looking down. He had always wondered why Gaara had been like that, he still didn't know.

"And you know what?" Shikamaru continued. "Now people are talking about how he's lightened up. There not afraid of him suddenly going berserk, on a killing rampage, whatever. That only happened after he met you, Naruto. What I believe, is that not only is he so lovestruck, but your impression changed his way of thinking. I heard people talking about how his relationship with his siblings had gotten better. Don't you see? He is never going to leave you."

"You really think so..?" Naruto smiled, looking to Shikamaru again. "Thank you, Shika."

"Don't worry about it." Shikamaru smiled, closing his eyes. "Heh.. Gaara's gone soft.."

Naruto smirked, flicking his friend in the forehead and laughing as he fell out of his chair.

- - -

"Okay, Gaara."

Temari smiled, pressing play on the stereo and giving him a thumbs up.

"Wait.." He gave a nervous look, and she stopped the tape. He sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "I don't know if I can do this.."

"You can do anything you put your mind to." She said, throwing a brush over to him. "That's your microphone. Just pretend I'm Naruto, and remember that the song you're singing is about how much you love him."

He nodded, looking at the brush in his hands. When Temari pressed play again, he looked at her, closing his eyes and imagining Naruto. Naruto smiled, sitting there and waiting patiently. Gaara felt a rush, and started to sing when the right moment came. His voice was lighter and softer than it usually was, all the roughness gone. With Naruto watching, he felt strange emotions come, ones that got him into the song.

When it was over, he slowly opened his eyes and stared at the floor. Temari started to clap her hands, and he looked up at her. The big grin obviously meant he did good, and she gave him a big hug.

"You'll do good, little brother."

- - -

A/N: Yes, I am going to make Gaara sing to Naruto. How romaanttiiic :P

Anyway, thank you for reviewing, next chapter coming soon :)


	9. Friends With Benefits

**In the Name of Soap Opera**

**Chapter Nine**

**Friends With Benefits**

Naruto walked to his locker once last period ended, a small smile on his face. Today him and Gaara would be able to spend the entire day together, no interruptions. He threw the stuff he didn't need into his locker, taking out everything he did need and shoving it in his bag, closing and locking his locker, then making his way to Gaara's. He turned around a corner, seeing his red haired wonder pulling a book from the top shelf of his locker and putting it into his bag.

"Hey, Gaara." Naruto smiled at him, and watched as he turned his head to look at him. Naruto's smile faltered for a second, then he forced it to brighten back up again. "We still hanging out today..?"

"Of course," Gaara said, and Naruto grinned. "But.. I need to help my sister with something right now, you think you can wait at home and I'll come pick you up after?"

"Uh.. okay.." Naruto nodded, supposing Gaara wouldn't be taking that long. He smiled softly, then waved to Gaara as he turned to walk away. "I'll be waiting."

- - -

"You're ready."

Temari smirked, and Gaara suddenly looked nervous. "But.. wait.. no, I'm not! I don't feel ready!"

"Nobody ever does, unless they're extremely confident." She sighed, looking at the time. "Holy.. Gaara, it's six o'clock!! Naruto's been waiting for three hours now!"

"Really?!" Gaara slapped his forehead, then looked around, still incredibly nervous. "Okay, okay.. uh.. one more time, and I swear I'll leave!"

"Fine!" She turned, going to press the play button again, but was stopped when the phone rang. She walked over to the phone, answering it. Her expression changed, and she turned her head to look at Gaara, giving him a face that made him think he was doomed. Covering the phone with one hand, she whispered to Gaara. "It's Naruto.. he wants to know what you're doing.."

"What? Tell him.. tell him something, I don't know..!" He stared at her wide eyed when she told his boyfriend that he was doing nothing, then hung up. "What?? Why'd you tell him I was doing nothing?! Why didn't he ask to talk to me?"

"I couldn't think of anything else, and I didn't want to ruin the surprise.." She frowned, and he gave her a blank face. "What..?"

"You could've just said 'Oh, he's on his way', or something like that!" He groaned, walking over and picking up their battery powered stereo. "I need to go I'll see you when I get back.."

"Good luck!" She shouted before he walked out of the house, getting no answer. She looked worried, wondering if she had ruined everything.

Hopefully not.

- - -

Naruto closed his cell phone, staring at the floor. He had just been ditched. He stood up, giving a quiet sigh and walking over to he leather jacket he still had from Sasuke. The raven haired boy had slipped his number in the pocket, which had only helped to add onto the creepiness level. Though, thankfully, it came in handy.

"I guess I deserve it.." He shrugged, remembering when he didn't go to school that day. "But I don't understand why he would lie-... well.. I guess I deserve that, too.."

He opened his cell again and dialed his creepy friends number, and right after the first ring it had been answered with a 'hello?'. "Hey, Sasuke.."

"_Oh hey, Naruto. What's up?"_ He heard from the other line, giving a low sigh. "_What's wrong?"_

"Just bored.." Naruto lied, then looked around the room once. "Wanna hang out?"

"_Why not,_" Sasuke said, and Naruto smiled slightly. "_Come on over, I'll make you something to eat._"

"Sweet, I'm on my way!" Naruto closed the phone, then grabbed Sasuke's jacket and left the apartment.

Who needs a boyfriend when you've got friends with benefits?

- - -

Gaara walked around the building, getting to Naruto's window. He was glad that the blond lived on the second floor, or else this wouldn't have been able to work. He picked up a rock, throwing it at the window and waiting for his boyfriend to go on his balcony. He waited, frowning and wondering if the blond hadn't heard it.

Picking up another rock, Gaara threw it at the window, making sure he didn't throw it hard enough for it to break anything. He waited. And waited. And waited. What was Naruto doing? He sighed, taking out his cell phone and calling Naruto's kept ringing right through to the answering machine, and Gaara closed his phone, putting it back in his pocket.

Naruto wasn't answering the rocks hitting the window, and he wasn't answering his cell phone. He sighed, walking around the building again and getting to the front of it. He sat on the edge of the side walk, putting the stereo beside him. Putting his face in his hands, he knew that Naruto had probably left, thinking that Gaara ditched him or something.

"Damn it.." He wanted so bad to be able to blame it all on Temari, but it wasn't her fault, nor her problem. He felt something on the back of his head, and he started to look up, his eyes widening slightly when he realized that it was sharp, and poking into his skin. "Wha..-?"

"Shut up," Gaara blinked as the male voice spoke, staring at the road. He began turning his head, and what he had figured was a knife cut the back of his head open slightly, though not enough to do any sort of damage other than a small scar that nobody would see. But that wasn't the problem at the very moment. "Don't move!!"

He stayed completely still, now staring at some parked car. The man behind him kept the knife to his head, reaching his free hand into his pockets. After searching through all of his pockets, the man found Gaara's wallet, taking out whatever money the might have been in there. Gaara watched as his wallet fell into his lap, and then listened as the guy grabbed the stereo and ran off.

By the time he had been free to look at the man, he was running away. The only thing Gaara was able to tell was that he was tall, skinny,wearing all black, and covering his head with his hood. Standing, the red head turned, making his way home, his eyes still wide. He lifted his hand and felt the back of his head, pulling his hand back and staring at the blood.

He suddenly glared, feeling hate, anger, rage, sadness, and many other emotions flow through his mind. He turned around, curling his hands into fists, and chased the thief.

Someone was going to die tonight.

- - -

"Thanks, man!"

Naruto grinned, and Sasuke nodded, putting the dishes in the sink. "No problem, anything for a friend."

"Heh.." Naruto rubbed his belly, thankful he could have real food once in a while. "Wicked.."

"Hey," Sasuke crossed his arms, leaning on the wall and looking at Naruto. "So, what was up earlier? You didn't sound too great on the phone, did something happen?"

"Ah, it's nothing really.." Naruto frowned, thinking about Gaara again. "Just.. someone who keeps letting me down, that's all."

"Oh?" He gave a soft smile, punching his fist to his palm. "Want me to beat some sense into them, for you?"

"Haha," Naruto grinned, shaking his head. "Nah, I don't think that's really necessary.. though, they might deserve it."

"Just say who where and when and it'll happen." Sasuke smirked, then crossed his arms again. "So, what do you feel like doing?"

"I don't know, just.. take me for a walk, or something. I feel like junk food." The blond stood up, smiling.

"You feel like junk food?" Sasuke pushed off the wall, chuckling. "I don't think it's very healthy if your insides feel like a bag of chips."

"What?" Naruto stared him, looking confused for a second. Then, he gave Sasuke a fake annoyed face. "You know what I meant."

"Yes, I did." Sasuke motioned for him to follow. "Let's go."

Naruto followed his creepy friend, and they left the house. It was dark out, now, and the moon was bright. A full moon. Naruto sighed as he stared at the moon, thinking of romance, then thinking about how he'd never get that with Gaara as his knight in shining armor. He turned his eyes away from the moon, blinking as his eyes got used to not staring at the bright floating ball in the sky.

"What's up?" Naruto looked at Sasuke, giving a slightly embarrassed smile. "Just thinking?"

"Yeah.." He replied, and Sasuke nodded. They turned a corner, and were crashed into. Naruto watched as Sasuke got trampled on by some random guy with a stereo, both of them falling over. Naruto blinked, staring at the stranger with a knife. His eyes went wide, and he backed up slightly, turning his head when he bumped into a fire hydrant In that brief second that he had looked away, the man with the knife was suddenly in front of him, holding the weapon to his neck. His face showed fear, and he whimpered. "Ah... ahhh.."

"Shut up!" The man put more pressure on the knife, and Naruto felt tears come to his eyes. What a horrible way to die. His eyes widened even more when a loud roar sounded out from beside them, and in less than a few seconds the man in front of him was on the ground, being punched over and over again. Naruto ran over to Sasuke, helping him up, then looked back to the person who was beating up the man.

"G-Gaara..??" Naruto stared, watching as his red haired lover beat the guy up. He turned his head and looked at Naruto, his face showing the blood lust and rage that must have been coursing through him. A murder face. "Gaara..! ..D-don't.."

Before he could finish what he was going to say, the guy under Gaara lifted his knife and stabbed Gaara's leg, getting a groan in pain from the red head. He pushed him off, returning the beating that he had gotten from him. But Gaara wasn't going to give up easily, he growled, poking the guy's eyes and rolling them over, changing the position. He was back on top, and took this as his chance. He put his foot on the mans knife wielding arm, taking the knife and throwing it somewhere else. Wrapping his hands around the mans' neck, he screamed.

"_Die_ you mother f-!!" He stopped, his eyes going wide. He took one hand and pulled off the man's hood, seeing in front of him someone who looked like an older version of Kankuro. He blinked, recognizing this man. "D-dad..?!"

The man now known as Gaara's father kicked his leg up, throwing Gaara off of him. The red head felt his face rip off of the concrete, hearing the snap of his jaw. He coughed, blood spewing out of his mouth and splattering on the ground. He slowly started to lift himself up, and the impact of a boot to his side made him fall over again, curling up slightly.

"You always were weak." The man said, glaring down at his son. He knelt down, picking Gaara up by his hair. "I provoke you and you can't even stand up for yourself. After everything I've done, you still wouldn't even think about hurting me. Your nothing but a weakling, all talk and no game."

"Urgh.." He put his hands on his dad's arm, wincing and glaring at him both at the same time. Staring into his fathers eyes, he remembered everything the man had done, not only to him but also to his siblings. If Naruto hadn't showed up in his life, he wouldn't care about what this man had done to everyone else, but now he cared. He hated his father even more. And he also realized that Naruto was standing merely a few feet away. The blood lust came back into his eyes, and he turned his head, putting more pain on his skull since his father was still pulling his hair, and opened his mouth, chomping down and sinking his teeth into his fathers skin.

"Gyaahh!!" He dropped Gaara, yanking his arm away and staring at the ripped flesh. Looking back to his son, he glared, though he was not disappointed. "You little.."

"Shut up!" Gaara jumped up, punching his dad in the face. He felt the blood in his mouth pool up, and pit it all into his dad's eyes. How he reached was beyond him, but he didn't even care. He kicked his dad in the shin, then pulled his dad's head down and kneed him in the face. He pushed him away, watching as he tumbled backwards and fell over. Gaara stood over him, glaring down with eyes that screamed murder. "Get lost."

"I see you're not messing around anymore." His dad stared up at him, then smirked, slowly getting up with the wall as support. He gave a last nod to Gaara, turning and leaving as quickly as he could. Gaara watched as he left, then looked at Naruto. His eyes turned and he now stared at the random boy beside the blond, feeling a surge of jealousy run through him. All he could think of was that this boy was the one Naruto would choose over him.

"Gaara..!" Naruto ran over, reaching his hand toGaara's face, stopping and pulling away. "Gaara.. you're all bloody..! You need to get medical help, I think your jaw is broken.. you were stabbed!!"

"I got some stuff back home that could help you.." the raven hared boy walked over, rubbing the back of his head and looking dazed. Obviously he hit his head the wrong way, which probably explained why he didn't help at all. Gaara continued to stare at him, not even looking at Naruto once. He blinked, everything that Naruto and his chosen one had said fading out. Things started to go blurry, and he felt his eyes become droopy.

Then everything went black.

- - -

A/N: And there is chapter nine, the longest one yet :D Don't worry, next chapter will be very humourous, hopefully. I mean, it has to be, since Gaara and Sasuke are going to talk for the first time. There will be a lot of jealousy :P

Thank you for reviewing, next chapter coming soonish :)


	10. Jealousy

**In the Name of Soap Opera**

**Chapter Ten**

**Jealousy**

"Hn.."

Gaara felt conciousness come back to him, and he opened his eyes, wincing at the pain in his head. Not to mention in his jaw, leg, and stomach. He slowly pulled himself up, looking around the room. His expression turned to one of confusion, and he wished it didn't hurt to change the look on his face.

"Where the hell am I..?" He turned, putting his feet on the floor. He was in an unfamiliar room, and he knew at first glance that this room was not part of a hospital. Lifting himself off the bed, he groaned loudly when a pain shot through his leg, and then through his chest, right up to his head. He fell back on the bed, which didn't exactly help all too much. "Nhg.."

Forcing himself to sit up, he tried again, making sure not to but any pressure on his right leg. It wasn't free of pain, but a lot less painful than before. Limping through the hallways, he followed the noises that he heard, and eventually it lead him to the living room of the strange house. He peeked in, seeing Naruto and the unknown boy sitting there, watching T.V. or playing video games or something. He walked, or limped, in, putting his hand on the arm of the couch. Naruto gave him a big smile, a video game controller in his hand.

"How're you feeling?" The blond asked, and Gaara gave him a blank stare. "Okay.. I suppose that answers my question with a 'what do you think?'. Come, sit down."

Gaara sighed, wincing as he moved to sit down beside his boyfriend. He grumbled something inaudible, gently tracing the bandages around his leg. That reminded him, he was half naked in a strangers house with Naruto. He was thankful that he didn't get embarressed easily, but it still felt slightly rude. "Where are my clothes.."

"Your clothes have blood all over them, so I put them in the wash. Though, I know that the blood stains are probably not going to come out, so I have clothes that you can wear." The stranger boy said, leaning forward to look at Gaara and giving him a smile. "You hungry?"

"No." Gaara stared at the guy, wondering where he came from and why he was suddenly in Gaara's and Naruto's life. Gaara would rather Naruto and him walk home, Gaara half naked, then to stay there in the random boy's house. He pushed those thoughts away, looking at Naruto. "You okay..?"

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine!" Naruto replied, putting a hand on Gaara's shoulder. "But I'm not fine because I know you're not. What happened last night? It was so quick I barely understood what was going on."

"What do you understand from it, then?" Gaara asked, and Naruto frowned.

"That you got into a deadly fight with some guy who happened to be your dad and you stood up to him..?" He said, and Gaara nodded. "So, that was your dad?"

"Yeah." The red head turned his eyes away, staring at the T.V. screen. "Just another worthless waste of skin an bones that I don't need in my life."

"..." Naruto turned his head, looking at Sasuke. The raven haired boy shrugged, and then they bother looked at Gaara right as he looked back to them.

"Can you tell me what kind of damage I took, considering you were my doctor tonight?" He asked, and Sasuke nodded.

"You were stabbed in your right leg, which was bleeding severely. You fractured your jaw, right down the middle. Half of your face is ripped up from the pavement, you've got a small knife wound at the back of your head, a broken rib, and one of your cainine teeth are chipped, which I believe it was effected when your face his the pavement, but when you bit your father's arm, it chipped your tooth. You bit him really hard, right down to the bone. You're going to need to go to the hospital, you were only resting up here first." Sasuke raised his eyebrows. "Sorry.."

"Don't worry about it.." His blank expression didn't change, but not only because it would have hurt if it did. "How do you know all of this? Are you some sort of professional?"

"Nah," He shook his head, giving a small smile. "My mother used to be a doctor. Not only did she show me a few things, but her equipment is also still down in the basement."

"I see." Gaara looked around. The house seemed pretty empty to him. "Where is she now?"

"Ah, she passed away a while ago." The red head turned his gaze back to the strange boy, nodding slightly.

"I'm sorry to hear that." He said, and Sasuke shook his head.

"Hey, don't sweat it. I mean, look at what your dad did." He smirked, and Gaara looked down at his stabbed leg. "If anybody should be sorry, it should be me."

Naruto looked at both of them, then shrugged, and clicked the start button on his controller, unpausing the game while Sasuke was occupied with talking to Gaara. He grinned when Sasuke yelped. "Hehehe.."

"Hey!" Sasuke laughed, pushing Naruto slightly. The blond went a bit off balance, and fell onto Gaara's lap, which might have been fine to him if his leg hadn't been stabbed the other day. "Oops.."

"Mnnhh..." Gaara stared at Sasuke, and Naruto got off his lap, turning and giving him the most apologetic look ever.

"Ah, Gaara! I'm really really really sorry!" He hovered his hands above Gaara's legs, or more so above his crotch. He just hadn't realized where exactly they were hovering above. "Are you okay??"

Gaara's face turned red, which must have looked strange considering his face was blank. "Mmhmm.."

"No, no you're not!!" Naruto looked really upset, and then suddenly very confused. "Why do you look so constipated..?"

"I don't know." He pushed all thoughts away, and was thankful that his face felt normal again, other than the slightly faded throbbing. "I'm fine."

"You're not!!" He whined, afraid to touch Gaara in fear of hurting him. "Why would your face go red like that if you weren't?? YOU'RE NOT OKAY!!"

"I'm _fine_!!" He mumbled, and he heard Sasuke chuckling in his corner of the couch. He suddenly remembered why he had stared and growled at him instead of Naruto. The guy had pushed his boyfriend. "Yo-"

"Gwahhh!! You're not okay!! You're going to die and then I'm going to be all alone and then I'll catch your disease and die too, leaving Sasuke alone!" Naruto blabbed on, and Gaara did not look amused. "And then he'll catch it and he'll die and then-"

After that, Gaara just sort of blanked Naruto out, his eyes sending daggers towards the boy who he now knew as Sasuke. Sasuke stared at him as well, catching the drift, and sent his own blank stare back at him. It was like an angry staring contest between them, that nobody else knew about. Gaara was brought back down to earth when his mouth started aching, and he turned his gaze to Naruto.

"And then Choji's cat will catch it and it'll be like a world wide dying epidemic!!" Naruto gave Gaara a big frowny face, and the red head just stared at him. "Now do you see? You're not okay!"

"You don't know what you're talking about anymore, do you.." Gaara said, ignoring the pain. Naruto smiled nervously, scratching the back of his head. Gaara wished he could to that without curling up from the pain.

"No, not really.." He looked at Sasuke, then back to Gaara. "Hehehe.."

"Do you have a phone I can use..?" Gaara asked, and Sasuke nodded, turning and reaching over to the end table, picking up the wireless phone and passing it to the red head. Naruto gave Gaara a funny look. "What?"

"Don't you have a cell phone..?" He asked, and Gaara shook his head. "What happened to it..??"

"Dad stole it." He replied, and nothing was said after that. He dialed a number into the phone, and the person on the other line automatically picked up. "Hello. Yeah.. well actually, no. I need you to drive me to the hospital. Calm down, I'll explain everything when we're driving. Some random guy's house. Beside me. Yeah, he's okay. I'll explain later, just come get me."

Gaara stopped talking on the phone for a second to ask Sasuk his adress, and then told it to the person on the phone. After hanging up without a goodbye, he handed the phone back to Sasuke, slowly standing up. Naruto stood first, holding onto Gaara's arm. "Here, let me help you."

"I'm fine." Gaara said, pulling his arm away. A look that sent guilt through Gaara's mind crossed Naruto's face for a brief second, and he sighed. "I'm a bit edgy right now, okay? It'll be easier just to get ready on my own.. I think."

"I'll be there anyway." The blond said, his stubborness kicking in. Gaara stared at him for a second, then walked back up the stairs to the room he had been in. How he got down them in the first place was a question that wouldn't have an answer. Once they got back up to the room, Naruto closed the door, frowning at Gaara. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"No, I'm not." He replied, and taking the clothes as Naruto handed them to him. "You seem to know your way around this house, where do you know this guy from, anyway?"

"Oh my.." Naruto snorted, covering his mouth. "Don't tell me you're jealous..?"

"....No." He glared, quietly grunting when his face began to hurt from it. He looked away, sitting down on the bed and starting his great adventure to try and get the pants he was given up. Naruto sighed, shaking his head. "What!?"

"You're jealous." He snickered. "Gaara, you don't need to be jealous. I'm with you."

"Well yeah, but you were-" He stopped, going quiet. He remembered why he had even been out in the first place. He was thankful that he had chased his father, though, because then he saved Naruto. But if Naruto hadn't left his place, that situation wouldn't have happened. Unless his dad was follwoing him, of course. Naruto waited for Gaara to continue talking. "Nevermind.."

"Oh, come on, Gaara.." Naruto frowned, crossing his arms. "Hey, that reminds me, why did you ditch me?"

"I didn't ditch you.." He shook his head, looking down with a slightly depressed expression. "I was on my way over.."

"Really." Naruto stared at him, and when the red head looked up at him with that expression, he couldn't help but believe him. "Well.. I thought you had ditched me.. so I left. Sorry..."

"Don't worry about it.." He sighed, standing up and ignoring the pain for the twenty fifth time that day.. or night. "How long was I out for?"

"Only a few hours. It's like three in the morning.." Naruto said, and Gaara pulled the random black shirt over his head, which was very painful. "I'm sorry this happened to you.."

"It wasn't your fault." He said, then looked down at the shirt he was wearing. "What is this, anyway.. a ping pong paddle?"

"Haha!" Naruto laughed, then covered his mouth. "Yes, Gaars, it's a paddle. And it signifies what you should be doing to me."

"Whoa.." Gaara looked up at Naruto, his face going red.

"Hey, your blushing! So that's why you looked constipated.. don't blush." He laughed, then put his hands on his hips. "Well, if it's like that, then that paddle signifies what _I_ should be doing to _you_."

"W-whoa.." Gaara blinked, his face turning even more red. He shook his head slowly. "No, no.. I think I've taken enough beatings.. it'll definately be what I should be doing to you."

"Hehehe.." Naruto felt a blush come to his face, too, and everything went quiet. Naruto pointed to the door, smiling at Gaara. "I need to take a shower.. I guess I'll see you in the hospital..?"

"Sure.." Gaara nodded, and Naruto gave him a gentle hug, then waved and left. Gaara would have asked questions about why the blond was taking a shower in the random guy's house, then decided he trusted Naruto enough not to have the need to ask. He headed down the stairs,as slowly as he could, then made it back into the living room. Sasuke sat on the couch, flipping through the channels on the T.V..

"Hey there.." The raven haired boy smiled, patting the spot beside him. Gaara would have raised his eyerow if he hadn't already strained his face as much as he did. Once Gaara sat down, Sasuke turned his head and gave him a questioning glance. "Where's Naruto?"

"Taking a shower." He stared at Sasuke. "So.. when did you meet him?"

"Ah, not too long ago. Maybe a week, not sure. He's pretty awesome." He grinned, looking at Gaara. "You're that Gaara fellow I think I heard him talking about before. You too are pretty close, huh?"

"Yes.." He replied, and Sasuke gave a low sigh.

"I wish I could be close to him like that." That comment alone made Gaara's face turn into something fierce, like an animal that was facing another of it's own kind for the chosen mate. "If only Naruto and I could have a relationship like that.. I'd probably fight you for it, not that I'm saying I would win or anything. Not saying I wouldn't either."

Gaara forgot all about the pain in his body, and he started to lift his hand, curling it into a fist. Sasuke was staring at the T.V., not noticing that he'd probably be punched in a few seconds. Ready to swing his arm, Gaara opened his mouth to say something, but an extremely loud beep from outside caused him to fall off the couch in stead. "Ahgg..!"

"Ahaha!" Sasuke stood up, holding out a hand for Gaara to take. The red head stared at it,taking it and pulling himself up with the unwanted support. He stared into Sasuke's eyes for a brief second, then turned and walked out of the house. "Uh, the doors that way.."

"I knew that.." Gaara grumbled, turning the other way and leaving the house.

He had officially made a new enemy.

- - -

A/N: There is chapter ten, hopefully it was enjoyed. Next chapter coming fairly soon, thank you for reviewing :D


	11. Hospital Visits

**In the Name of Soap Opera**

**Chapter Eleven**

**Hospital Visits**

"Jeez, what happened, Gaara??"

"Nothing too good.." The red head sighed, staring out the car window as Temari drove him to the hospital. Kankuro sat in the passenger seat, staring back at him. "Nothing good at all.."

"Who did this to you?" Kankuro asked, the look of worry on his face. Gaara glanced at him, his expression blank. "'Cause if I ever see them I'ma slam my fist in their face."

"Oh, trust me, you will." Gaara shook his head slowly, watching the street lights as they passed by. "It was dad."

"It was _who_?!" Temari took her eyes off the road for one brief second, then returned her attention to it. "It was.. dad..?!"

"Yeah." Glancing to Kankuro once again, he noticed his brother's face was full of shock. "He stole stuff from me, and I was going to just forget it and go home, but.. well.. I chased him, and.. Naruto.. I tackled dad, and I was beating the shit out of him before I even knew who he was. He stabbed my leg when I let my guard down for a breif second, then he started beating me up. When I got him again, I was about to choke him, and I noticed something. I pulled off his hood, and there was dad. He called me weak, and I broke his nose. He left, that's basically what happened."

"I'm going to call the cops.." Temari said, pulling her cell phone out and handing it to Kankuro. "But since I'm driving, you do it, Kankuro."

"No.." Gaara looked at them, watching as his older brother started to dial the number. "Wait.. don't.."

"Why?" Kankuro stared at Gaara in disbelief. "Look at what he did to you?! You don't want him off the streets? Do you want him to come back and do that again?"

"No.." He shook his head, sighing. "But.. I don't think he's going to come back for a while.. let's not worry about it, okay? Besides, I'd rather not talk to the police at the current moment. You know, I do have a broken rib. It's slightly hard to breath."

"Sorry, Gaara.." Temari frowned, sighing as well and taking her phone back from Kankuro. "Were almost there, okay?"

"Alright.." He looked out the window again, and everything went quiet. Kankuro stared out his own window as well, and Temari kept her focus on the road. Nobody spoke until they got to the hospital, and even then it still wasn't much.

"Here.." Kankuro helped Gaara out of the back seat, and Temari locked the car doors when the got out. They led their little brother into the hospital, and watched as some doctors took him away. They sat in the waiting room, which was probably one of the worst places anybody could be. People crying, pacing, complaining, and anxiously waiting.

"I can't believe him.." Temari spoke quietly, and Kankuro sighed. "Why the hell did dad even have to come back.. and do something like that, too!"

"I don't know.." Kankuro replied, his voice hushed as well. "Let's just not worry about it, like Gaara said, okay?"

"But I _am_ worrying about it." She mumbled, shaking her head slowly. "I just can't believe him.. he's never been a real father, and then he comes here and calls Gaara weak? Weak!? Gaara's not weak.. dad is weak, for being unable to take care of his three children."

"What do you expect from him.." Kankuro said, and his sister shrugged. "We'll figure it out another time, okay?"

Temari shrugged again, nodding.

- - -

"Huh.."

"What?" the blond looked at his raven haired friend, blinking in confusion. "What's wrong?"

"It's nothing.." Sasuke shook his head, staring down at the floor.

"Well, it's obviously something. Nobody just sits there and says 'huuuuuuuuuhhh' if it's nothing."naruto said, and Sasuke smirked. "What is it? Tell me!"

"Just.. your friend.. Gaara.. he's seems a little..-"

"Strange? Weird? Hostile? Crazy? Awkward? Cool?" Naruto cut him off, smiling. Sasuke chuckled, shaking his head.

"A few of those, I guess." He said, then thought for a second. "Maybe all of them except for the last. No offense.."

"None taken, everybody has different opinions.." The blond frowned, having taken a bit of offense to that. He knew it was only because Sasuke hadn't really known Gaara long enough, so he didn't let it get to him. "You don't like him..?"

"What? No, no, that's not it at all." Sasuke laughed. "If anything, I think he doesn't like _me._"

"Why do you think that..?" Naruto knew that it was true, Gaara didn't like Sasuke. He was jealous, even if he said he wasn't. But the blond had to play it cool, pretend he didn't understand.

"Well.. he gave me death glares when I pushed you, he asked how I knew you when you were in the shower, as if he was on guard or something. And I think he wanted to punch me after I said I wished I could be close to you like he is."

Naruto blushed, looking around. He looekd back to Sasuke when he continued talking.

"And to be honest.." He said, smiling at Naruto. "I think that guy is head over heels for you."

"R-r-..??" The blond's face went completely red, and Sasuke looked worried for a second. "U-uh.. w-why.. r-r..eally.. u-um.."

"What?" Sasuke tilted his head slightly, wondering what Naruto was thinking. "Oh.. I thought maybe you were used to that kind of thing.. where a dude-"

"No, no.. that's not it.." Naruto shook his head, staring at the back of the couch, curling up slightly. "Um.. I just.. I guess it's kind of embarrassing.."

"Embarrassing?" Sasuke frowned. "Are you..?"

"Y-yeah.." He hid his face. "It's not.. I don't.. ugh.."

"You don't need to hide it." Sasuke smirked, putting a hand through his hair. "Afterall, I am too."

"Really?" Naruto looked up at him, smiling with a blush. "Well.. cool."

"I guess you could say that..?" Sasuke stared at him, and everything went quiet. It seemed to get more and more awkward as the time wnet by, and suddenly, Sasuke slowly moved closer to Naruto. The blond jumped off the couch, looking around.

"I need to get to the hospital!!" He shouted, and Sasuke gave a mental sigh.

So much for making a move.

- - -

"Are you okay?"

Gaara gave Naruto the slightest smile, it fading after a few seconds. "Yeah.. I'm fine.."

Half of his face was bandaged up, his leg was, his torso was, and his knuckles were as well. It hadn't seemed much different from when he was at Sasuke's, but it obviously was. And he didn't need to stare at the face of his competition just so he could realize his own flaws over and over again.

"How long will you be here for..?" Naruto frowned. "I'm going to miss you."

'_No you won't.._' He thought, then shook his head slowly. "Don't worry, I shouldn't be here for long. Maybe a week or two. It'll take less then a month, I'm pretty sure."

"That's a relief.. I guess." Naruto sighed, putting his head on the bed, inbetween Gaara's head and shoulder, and stared up at him with a pouting face. "If only you could get out of here sooner.. if only this hadn't happened."

"Well, it did, so you'll need to deal with it." He stared at Naruto, not exactly in the mood. "If I could go back in time, I would. But I don't think it would change much."

"Bwaah..?!" Naruto frowned. "But.. but.. why are you taking this out on me???"

"I'm not." Gaara said, keeping his eyes on the blond. "I was merely saying."

"You're a big meanie!" Naruto stuck his tongue out at Gaara, then stood up. "Anyway, are you hungry?"

"No." He replied, watching as Naruto stood up. "You should go home and rest. You can't miss another day of school, at least I have a good enough reason and two siblings who can talk to the school for me."

"I guess you're right.." The blond sighed, looking to the door. "I'll come right after school tomorrow, okay?"

Gaara nodded slightly, and Naruto walked to the door, looking slightly disappointed and upset. He watched, suddenly feeling the need to talk again. "I love you."

"Really!?" He turned around, the happiest look on his face. He ran over, hugging Gaara even if it probably hurt him. "You really said it!! I love you too!"

"..." Gaara winced, feeling the pain from Naruto's hug. But he dealt with it, and gave a slight smile when the blond let go. Naruto ran, waving as he left the room. Gaara sighed, staring at the ceiling now.

Why did it always hurt to say those words?

- - -

A/N: Well, this chapter passed the 1, 500 word border I put up for myself, and at the moment I've got a bit of writers block. Sorry this chapter isn't very long, and if it isn't the greatest chapter ever. I'm trying! DX


	12. Making Moves

A/N: Thankfully I sort of get inspiration easily, (seriously, I stared at a rock and got inspiration before..), which means my writers block is slowly leaving me.. hopefully. Thank you for your support, and here is the next chapter (hope it's better o.O)

**In the Name of Soap Opera**

**Chapter Twelve**

**Making Moves**

"So, how's he doing?"

"Oh, he's doing great!" The blond replied, a big smile on his face. Sasuke chuckled, watching as Naruto put his hands behind his head in a laid back position as they walked. They were on their way to the park, probably just to scare little kids away and loiter. "He should be out in a week tops."

'_Gives me more than enough time.._' He smiled at Naruto. "That's good. He probably enjoys sitting in the hospital, though. He gets out of school."

"Ah, not really." Naruto laughed, thinking of what Gaara would be doing at that very moment. "He's probably smashing his head off a wall after running around in circles due to lack of something to do."

"Oh, I see." He grinned, slowly getting closer to Naruto as they walked. Thankfully, the blond didn't notice. "Boredom kills."

"Not only that, he'd get tired of sitting there all by himself with all that time to think." Naruto shook his head slightly. "He'd go berserk."

"Ha ha.." Sasuke scratched the back of his neck, glancing at Naruto. "I think I would, too.."

"Same here!" Naruto grinned, and he looked at Sasuke. "But I don't want to have to do that anytime soon.."

"Ah, don't worry," Sasuke took this chance, wrapping his arm around Naruto's waist and ruffling his hair. "I'll make sure it won't happen."

"Oh.. ah heh.. thanks.." Naruto stared up at him, turning his head when he felt his face go hot. He started to get nervous when the raven haired boy didn't let go, and he felt people start to stare. They continued walking, and Sasuke didn't take his arm away. "Uh.. um.. hey.. Sasuke.."

"Yes?" Sasuke replied, his voice soft. Too soft. "What is it?"

All Naruto could imagine was the word 'dear' at the end of Sasuke's sentence. It freaked him out. "Uh.. do you think.. you could.. um.. let go..?"

"Oh, sorry.." Sasuke pulled his arm away, giving an embarrassed smile. "I didn't realize.."

"It's okay.." Naruto said, the blush still on his face. Sasuke looked around, seeing an ice cream shop.

"Hey, want ice cream?" Naruto stared at him, then looked to where he pointed. "I'll pay."

"Oh.." Naruto blinked, then smiled, forgetting all about what had just happened. "Sure!!"

'_Too easy.._' Sasuke chuckled, wondering how Naruto got distracted so easily. They went into the shop, and only then did Naruto realize how late it had been. Sasuke raised an eyebrow at him. "What's up?

"Huh?" He turned his eyes back to Sasuke. "Oh, nothing. It's just late, and I kinda want to head home. You think you could walk me..?"

"Why not." He smiled, ordering their ice cream and handing Naruto's to him, then walking out of the shop with the blond. They walked down the street, heading to Naruto's building.

"Woo, I haven't had ice cream in sooo long.." Naruto sighed, licking his ice cream as Sasuke watched him. It wasn't creepy at all, no, not at all. He glanced at the raven haired boy, raising an eyebrow at him. "Why are you watching me?"

"I always watch you." At that comment, Naruto's eyes went wide, and Sasuke laughed at him. "I'm just kidding. And I'm watching you because you lick that in a funny way."

"What..?" Naruto stared at him, looking confused. Sasuke laughed again, shaking his head slightly.

"I don't think you'd understand." He felt Naruto punch his arm, and knew the blond had finally got it.

"Well, I don't think you lick it any better." Naruto gave a pouty, embarrassed face. He watched as Sasuke licked his own ice cream, and his face went even more red, his eyes widening slightly. "Whoa.."

"No, I don't think I do." Sasuke grinned, licking his lips, and Naruto quickly looked away, hiding his extremely red face. As they came up to Naruto's building, Naruto lead him into the lobby to say his goodbyes. Though, as they did, Naruto had started to lick his ice cream again, and Sasuke found this as some sort of chance. He took Naruto's hand, pushing it up and laughing as the ice cream covered Naruto's mouth, chin, and nose.

"Heeeeyy!!" Naruto shouted, almost dropping his ice cream and refraining from wiping his face. He didn't want to get a stain on his favourite long sleeve shirt, which he had been wearing. He didn't have the money to do laundry for a while, either, otherwise he probably wouldn't care. "What'd you do that for?!"

"Fun." Sasuke laughed again, and Naruto whined, trying to lick the ice cream off of his face. He couldn't reach the bottom of his chin, or his nose. He whined, grumbling something about stupid ice cream stores and how they should be handing out napkins before people leave. He whimpered, feeling the liquid slide down his neck. Sasuke couldn't help but act on that. "Here, let me get it for you."

"Wuh..?-..!!" Naruto's eyes widened as Sasuke tilted his face up, moving his mouth down to Naruto's neck and licking along the trail of ice cream. He stared at the ceiling, feeling Sasuke's tongue move up to his chin, and he nervously wondered if he would stop there. His eyes widened and his heart raced when Sasuke didn't stop, pulling Naruto into a kiss.

He didn't know what to do, he wanted it to stop, but then he didn't. He knew it shouldn't be happening, but he wasn't sure if he cared or not. But of course he cared, because he was supposed to be with Gaara. Though, he couldn't help but close his eyes and lean into the kiss.

It felt so wrong but oh so right.

- - -

Gaara sighed, extremely glad he was out of the hospital. He had been let out a bit early, and now he was on his way to Naruto's house to share the good news. Despite all that had happened, he actually felt.. happy. He knew it was all thanks to his boyfriend, because that beautiful blond had pulled him out of his dark days.

He finally felt like he was in a mood that couldn't be ruined. And he was going to spend this time with Naruto, all of it. He turned the corner, finally getting to Naruto's building. He stopped, the smile that he hadn't realized had been on his face faded, and his heart froze. His chest felt like it was ripping apart, and the sadness in his eyes was hidden by hatred.

There stood his boyfriend and that damned Sasuke. Kissing. And no, it wasn't one sided, they were kissing _each other._ If it was one sided, Gaara would be in there ripping Sasuke's teeth out. His feet moved on their own, making him hide behind the corner wall of the building. He waited, watching as Sasuke walked out of the building.

His hands curled into fists, and he moved again, peeking into the lobby to make sure Naruto wasn't there before he started to follow the raven haired boy. How could Naruto do that to him? They were progressing so well in the relationship, well, at least he hoped they were. And he was being cheated on for this scum? This guy didn't love Naruto like Gaara did, how was he worth it at all?

He probably treated the blond like dirt. He probably didn't care for his feelings and never said he loved him. He probably never showed up, or acted so bland. He probably made Naruto worry, or cry, or.. was the exact same as Naruto's current boyfriend.

Gaara wasn't going to stand for that. He didn't want to be topped by some practical stranger. And more importantly, he was going to take out his own mistakes on someone he didn't like. He walked up behind Sasuke, his eyes dark and his expression one to die for, and prepared to attack. If it was a fight this guy wanted, it was a fight he would get.

He was going to make him wish he had never been born.

- - -

A/N: Sorry if this chapter is a bit short too, I wanted to end it there because one, I need to save some for the next chapter, and two, it seemed like the perfect time. Thank you for reviewing, next chapter coming soon :D


	13. Worst Nightmare

**In the Name of Soap Opera**

**Chapter Thirteen**

**Worst Nightmare**

"You mother f.."

He didn't finish his sentence, instead, took a handful of Sasuke's hair and smashed his face off a brick wall, which happened to be oh so conveniently near them. Sasuke fell to the ground, cursing, and slowly sat up, his hand on his face. Gaara wasn't done just yet. He was enraged. In a fit of fury. Ready to kill somebody.

"Sasuke.." He growled, his voice as threatening as his expression. He knelt down, putting his hand on Sasuke's throat, pinning him to the wall. The raven haired boy put his hands on Gaara's arm, staring at him. "You've taken the wrong path.. you should have taken the one that leads away from me."

"W-what..?!" He coughed, feeling blood slide down his forehead. "What.. a-are you.. talking about!?"

"You know what I'm talking about.." He pulled Sasuke by his neck away from the wall slightly, then slammed him back against it. "Don't act stupid.. you know exactly what's going on."

"Oh, did you catch a glimpse of what the one you're in love with really wants?" Sasuke smirked, shifting slightly. Gaara glared at him, leaning his face in slightly. Sasuke didn't back down, though. "He doesn't want a red haired, make-up wearing, eyebrow plucking sissy boy. Get it straight in your head, you're not the one."

"You talk as if Naruto hates me.." Gaara growled, their faces inches apart. "You're wrong. You must be the one who needs to get it straight. And if anybody is a 'sissy boy', it's you."

"Aw, what's wrong?" Sasuke chuckled, reaching his face closer to Gaara's. "You want some action, you sexually frustrated? Poor boy, never got any, di-"

Gaara tightened his hand around Sasuke's neck, cutting off his sentence, and bared his teeth like a wild animal. "The only reason I'm even touching you right now is because I'm going to kill you."

"Mfhh.." Sasuke grabbed onto Gaara's arm, pulling it off of him and twisting it, causing the red head to loose balance and fall over slightly. Smirking, Sasuke got up, about to pin Gaara's arm behind his back, but he tripped when Gaara kicked him in the shin from the ground, making him fall face first and smack his chin off the concrete.

"You looked at him.." Gaara got up, taking Sasuke's foot and dragging him into the near by ally way. "You pushed him.. you like him.. and worst of all.. you.."

"Kissed him?" Sasuke glared, putting his hands on the ground, kicking Gaara in the face and flipping to get on his feet. He got into a fighting position, watching as Gaara rubbed his cheek. "Come on, let's actually fight instead of you pulling cheap moves on me."

"I will not lose.." He hunched over slightly, curling his hands into fists. He looked like he was a rabid animal, and would probably start foaming at the mouth any minute now. Rushing forward, he aimed to punch Sasuke in the jaw, but Sasuke grabbed his hand before he could. Sasuke twisted his wrist around, punching Gaara in the gut. He coughed up blood, taking his free hand and grabbing the arm that Sasuke was holding his other one with, moving around him and flipping him over.

Sasuke caught himself before he hit the ground, rolling so his landing didn't hurt as much, and hopping up, spinning around with his fists raised. "Where'd you learn your moves, hot shot?"

"That is none of your concern.." Gaara growled, rushing forward a second time and aiming to punch Sasuke in the jaw again. When Sasuke laughed at his repeat of the move, he smirked, using his other hand to punch Sasuke in his stomach. Satisfied at the loud groan in pain, Gaara whispered in Sasuke's ear. "You have no need to know my source of knowledge in combat, fighting skills are useless when you're dead."

"H-heh.." Sasuke grabbed the back of Gaara's shirt, kneeing him in the crotch. He pushed the red head off of him, watching as he tumbled back. "You're right at that, so why won't you tell me, huh?"

"Because I won't be.. the one who's dead in the end." He growled, shoving away the pain and wincing, glaring at Sasuke. "If I go down, I'm taking you with me.."

"So, you plan to take me down tonight, eh?" Sasuke smirked, and Gaara gave him a strange look, as if saying 'yeah, that's what I just said..'. "Or do you plan to go down _on_ me, tonight?"

"You sick bastard.." Gaara ran forward in anger, and instead of punching him he jumped at him, causing them both to hit the floor. He got on top, punching Sasuke in the face over and over again. The raven haired boy had his arms up, blocking the fists that were rampaging at his face. Eventually, they got past his arms, and started to hit his face. He knew one thing for sure, when Gaara was angry, he didn't care about anything, and nothing seemed to be able to stop him.

Finally, Gaara stopped punching Sasuke, huffing from his lack of breathing, and he glared down at the boy's bloody face. "Sasuke.. you have corrupted my Naruto..with your tainted personality.. and your tainted lips.. you.. will.. perish..!!"

"W-what.." Sasuke mumbled, glaring up at Gaara with his good eye, the other one starting to swell up. "So.. you're.. s-saying.. you're not.. tainted.. at all.. you morbid.. psychotic lunatic..?"

"I never said I was perfect.." He growled, putting his hand around Sasuke's neck again. "But.. I would never.. mistreat.. Naruto.."

"You know what.." Sasuke grabbed onto Gaara's arm, digging his nails into it. "That's bullshit.. you liar.. you're never around.. he's always at my house.. and I'm always feeding him.. and hes always having fun.. where the hell have you been.. you loser.. sitting around.. waiting for someone who gets a little too close.. so you can beat the shit outta them.. because you're horny and jealous?"

"N.." Gaara stared at him, wondering if that was really what he had been doing. No, of course he wasn't acting on 'horniness', but he was definitely jealous. Then again, he had the right to be. Him and Naruto were together, in a _closed_ relationship, how would he be expected not to care, unless he was still his cold hearted old self? And he had been trying to get the relationship to work better.. maybe it wasn't working?

Was he still cold enough to kill this guy for liking the same person he liked? It was Naruto, after all. It wasn't surprising that someone could fall in love with him after just becoming friends with him. But this guy had kissed Naruto, knowing that Naruto was with Gaara... or did he? Maybe Naruto hid it? His head started to hurt, and various emotions crossed his face. Confusion, sad, suspicious, hurt, anger, and a few more.

"What's the matter, cat got your tongue?" Sasuke pushed Gaara off of him, and the two of them sat there, staring at each other. "Truth hurts, doesn't it?"

"Did he tell you.." Gaara spoke quietly, and Sasuke waited patiently. It was almost like they hadn't just been trying to kill each other. "That.. him and I are together.."

"Oh, no.. he didn't.." Sasuke raised his eyebrows. Naruto was with _this_ guy? Of all people? He deserved way better. "Ouch.."

"Yeah.." Gaara said, crossing his arms and staring at the boy in front of him. "Guess he just never got the chance.. with your tongue down his throat, and all."

"Hey, don't blame this on me." Sasuke glared. "Besides, he had plenty of chances. I guess he just isn't satisfied with _you_. You probably never give him what he wants."

"You just wouldn't understand.." Gaara shook his head slowly, and the raven haired boy sighed quietly. "Just get lost before I lose it again.. and stay away from Naruto."

"Sure, sure.." Sasuke stood up, brushing himself off, and walked away. Gaara stood as well, leaning on the wall and watching his enemy leave. Sasuke smirked as he got out of the ally way, mumbling quietly to himself. "Heh.. as if."

The red head shook his head, grumbling to himself as he went the opposite way, going through the other side. "He's not going to stay away.."

Once tasted, the prey will not be left alone.

- - -

A/N: Yeah, a few short chapters in a row. All of them got to the 1,500 point, which is why they are not longer. I had pushed them up to being at least 1,500, but I'll try to manage more then that :)

Thank you for reading and reviewing, next chapter coming soon!


	14. The Beginning

A/N: Naruto better watch out, eh? XD Well, don't worry, karma will get him soon enough. (Poor Naruto.. DX)

**In the Name of Soap Opera**

**Chapter Fourteen**

**The Beginning**

"What happened?!"

"Ah, got into a fight.." Sasuke replied, giving Naruto a small smile. He was all bruised, with black eyes and swollen wounds. He looked pretty rough.

"With what, a bear??" Naruto stared at him in disbelief. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." He shrugged. Naruto frowned, and Sasuke put his hand on the blonde's shoulder. "Don't worry about me."

"Okay.." Naruto blushed, looking at the floor. He couldn't help but feel ashamed, he was standing there with Sasuke, at Sasuke's house, having _kissed_ Sasuke the night before. How was he going to tell Gaara all of this? How would he explain it? He couldn't. It was all so unbelievable that if he tried to tell Gaara, it would ruin everything.

He loved Gaara, he loved him more than anything. Definitely more than Sasuke. He hadn't asked for the kiss, and he hadn't wanted to kiss back. But something in his mind made him. Sasuke's eyes, his smirk, and even sometimes the way he acted. It all reminded Naruto of Gaara. He seen Sasuke way more then Gaara, whether that was his fault or not, and Sasuke seemed like such a romantic.

He supposed his lustful, love-deprived side would be responsible for his new infatuation with the raven haired boy. The rest of him was too devoted to Gaara to ever do something like that, and he was so disappointed in himself it wasn't funny. Poor Gaara, him and Naruto were supposed to share their first kiss, now Gaara would be the only one who hadn't kissed before.

Naruto felt really bad. He knew that if his relationship with Gaara ended, he wouldn't be able to live with himself. He sighed, wishing he could change it all, hoping Gaara wouldn't hate him, and reminding himself that he was never going to do that to Gaara again.

"Is something wrong?" Sasuke asked, bringing Naruto out of his train of thought. The blond smiled, nodding once. Sasuke smirked. "Alright, then. Let's get out of the doorway now."

"Oh.." Naruto blinked, blushing even more and following Sasuke into the house. They went to the living room, and Naruto flicked on the T.V., putting on some random channel. He wasn't even sure.

"Do you enjoy watching animal porn?" Sasuke questioned, and Naruto looked at him wide eyed, his expression confused, and he looked at the screen, then jumped, trying to change the channel. He fumbled around with the converter for a second, then finally changed the channel, watching as cartoons came on. He stuck his tongue out at Sasuke, who shook his head with a smirk.

Sasuke stared at the television, not exactly watching it. His mind traveled else where, thinking of Naruto, Gaara, and the whole situation. Naruto was with Gaara, but he cheated on Gaara. Gaara witnessed it, and came after Sasuke. Proving that Gaara wasn't worth it, Naruto was at Sasuke's house at the moment, and not his own boyfriend's.

Sasuke wouldn't give up. He was going to keep taking his chances, and eventually he would take Naruto. The blond obviously liked him more than Gaara, he spent more time with him, he cheated on Gaara. There were probably many more reasons to prove it, too. Even if he didn't, Sasuke was going to make sure he did.

Gaara didn't stand a chance.

- - -

"He what?!"

"He cheated." Gaara said blandly. His face was blank, and Temari knew that it was only to hide what he was really feeling. She knew her brother better then anybody. "He was cheating, but I trusted him. And he cheated.."

"Gaara.." She frowned, pulling him into a hug. She pulled away when he grunted quietly, giving him a questioning look. "What's wrong..?"

"Everything." He grumbled, wincing. "And I got into a fight with the guy that Naruto was cheating on me with.. I followed him. But I let him go.."

"..." Her expression suddenly became determined, and she turned around, putting her hands on her hips. Glancing back at Gaara, her voice was loud and demanding. "Change of course. Once we watch one whole series of a soap opera, you will not be done and sent to fulfill Naruto's romantic dreams.."

"What, were still going on with this..?" Gaara stared at her, crossing his arms. "It's obviously over.."

"No!" She shouted, and he blinked. "You will not give up. You will fight for him. You will win his heart over that douche bag's, and this soap opera drama will have a happy ending. I will make sure of it."

"When did this relationship turn into yours..?" He asked, and she turned around, staring at him. "And don't go all army Sargent on me.."

"What'd you say, boy?" She pointed to the floor. "Get down and give me twenty!"

"I find that truly unnecessar-"

"Down and give me twenty!" He groaned, getting on the floor and starting to do push ups. She knelt down beside him, shouting near his ear. "Who are you going to beat?!"

"Sasuke.."

"Who's heart are you going to win?!"

"Naruto's.."

"Who's the greatest sister ever?!"

"You are.." He turned his head, glaring at her, and she started laughing. He stopped, sitting up and staring at her.

"You look so unconvincing.." She smiled, and he crossed his arms. She sighed, then shouted again. "Did I tell you to stop?!"

Love was painful.

- - -

"Okay class.."

At that point, Gaara had started ignoring the teacher. He turned his head slightly, glancing at Naruto. He knew he didn't want to, he felt betrayed, unloved. But he needed to talk to him. He wasn't going to let Sasuke win, not a chance.

Naruto sat with his hand on his cheek, staring at the wall, day dreaming. Gaara frowned, turning his head again and putting it on his desk. He wondered what Naruto was daydreaming about, hoping it was something about him. He sighed mentally, knowing Naruto was probably thinking about Sasuke.

Gaara thought about what he was going to do. He was going to win Naruto's heart back, and tell that fool to hit the road. But what if he was the one to hit the road? Then he would, no biggie. If Naruto chose Sasuke, then all Gaara wanted was for Naruto to be happy.

Then why was he going to fight to win him back? Wouldn't Naruto just need to decide on his own? No, 'cause he knew Sasuke would be fighting, so he had no other choice but to fight back. If he didn't, Sasuke would automatically win.

Soon enough, the period ended, and they all left the classroom. Gaara waited until Naruto passed him, then got up, like they usually did. He walked behind the blond, wondering when he would turn around and smile. But he didn't, he just walked along, seemingly in a daze.

He was about to call his name, but then Naruto turned the corner. Gaara frowned, turning the corner as well, but then stopped when he realized that Naruto had just disappeared in the large crowd of people. He sighed, turning and heading to his next class.

He started to wonder. Why was he even fighting for this? Of course, he loved Naruto. He was the first person he had ever loved like that. But Naruto was obviously uninterested. He felt his anger rise, and he made it to his next class without punching someone out. Naruto wanted Sasuke, and he just hadn't gotten the chance to break up with Gaara. He probably pitied him.

That thought caused him to glare, sitting down in his seat and smashing his face onto his desk, wrapping his arms around his head and ignoring everyone in the class. Someone asked if he was okay, and he replied to them with a loud angry growl. Nobody talked to him after that.

He hated when people pitied him. And it pissed him off even more at the fact that Naruto would even do something like that. Of course, he would probably go back into his dark days if Naruto broke up with him, but that really did look better than being hurt like this. Is this what love meant? To sit around and get hurt time after time? What was the point?

He felt his head start to ache, but he ignored it. How could Naruto do this to him? Better yet, what did Gaara do that was so bad that he deserved this? He never cheated, he changed his ways, what went wrong? That he didn't express himself as much as Naruto wanted?

He was starting to get really frustraited. But he set a goal for himself. No, he wasn't going to lose to Sasuke. He would win. But none of them would be happy when it was all over.

Once the end of school came, Gaara skipped going to his locker, and went straight to Naruto's. Once he was upon viewing distance, he noticed Naruto was already there. And so was Sasuke. Gaara glared, watching as the two of them left, and turned around.

And so the war began.

- - -

A/N: Looks like things have taken a turn for the worst, and Naruto will probably be getting it the worst :P (I suddenly feel bad for him, and I feel worse for Gaara. But unfortunately, Sasuke has no sympathy from me XD)

Anyway, next chapter coming soon :D (I've been updating a lot recently! *cheers* And this chapter broke the short chapter spree :D Sortof, 1,726 is okay I guess... :\)

Thank you for reading and reviewing :)


	15. Love Wars Part I

**In the Name of Soap Opera**

**Chapter Fifteen**

**Love Wars Part I**

"Let's go watch a movie."

"Huh..?" Naruto looked up at Sasuke, then smiled. "O-okay.. I guess.."

"Come on," Sasuke smirked, motioning for him to follow and leading him to the living room. He watched as Naruto sat on the couch, then went to all the candles around the room and lit them. He pulled out a few movies for Naruto to choose from, and showed him. "You choose."

"Alright.." Naruto looked through the movies, pulling one out and staring at it. "Let's watch a scary movie!"

"Sure." Sasuke took the movie, putting all the rest back and slipping the one Naruto chose into the DVD player. Perfect, once the blond got scared, he would turn to Sasuke's ever so strong arms for protection. It was all working out so far, Gaara was never going to beat him.

"Don't laugh if I get scared, okay?" Naruto looked at him, watching as he turned off the lights. Sasuke sat beside Naruto as the movie started, smiling at him.

"Of course not." He'd only be laughing at Gaara when Naruto got scared, for the blond was going to flee to his arms soon enough. Once he realizes that Gaara just isn't what he wants, he's going to dump him. "I wouldn't laugh."

"You promise?" Sasuke nodded, and Naruto smiled. They watched the movie, Naruto a bit nervous, and Sasuke just waiting for the moment that the blond would get scared. Luckily for him, Naruto got scared easily, and almost every time the scene changed, he was hiding his face in Sasuke's arm.

Things were working out so perfectly.

- - -

"That jackass.."

"Hm..?" Temari looked at Gaara after the red head had suddenly talked to himself. "Who?"

"Sasuke.." Gaara crossed his arms, looking at Temari. The had been sitting on the couch, watching some soap opera. "He took my opportunity.."

"What?" She stared at him, even more confused now. "What happened?"

"I was going to catch Naruto after school.." He grumbled, closing his eyes. "But when I got to his locker, him and Sasuke were already there."

"Alright." Temari stood up, pointing towards the ceiling. "Now, Gaara. You must think ahead. Beat him to it. And I will help, now here is what you need to do,"

She turned around to face him, putting one hand on her hip and the other raised as she explained. "You will need to be one step ahead if him, and this works out for you, you see? Naruto is in your first period class, so what you do, is you talk to him there. Right now, hes probably doing something lame like watching a scary movie so Naruto will hide in his arm or whatever, it's like, the oldest trick in the book."

"So, what should I do then.." He asked, and she grinned. For some reason, that face worried him.

"You'll be the romantic I've been teaching you to be." She nodded once, as if agreeing with herself. "The first time, you'll take him somewhere special, a fancy restaurant. You'll take him home, and the living room will be set up romantically for you two, and you will press play on the stereo, playing slow music for you two to dance to. But since we don't have a stereo anymore, I'll make up a CD for you to play in the DVD player or something."

"..." Gaara stared at her, and she crossed her arms. "How do you come up with this stuff.."

"Little brother, you must realize that woman are the most romantic species on the planet." She grinned, and he sighed, shaking his head and rolling his eyes. "Now, your first day will be the romantic dinner and dance, then the second day can be something like a carnival. I know that there will be more than three, so we'll come up with a few."

"How about the third one we go walking on the beach.. in the night.." He hesitated to finish the sentence, blinking at Temari's excited expression. She clapped her hands, and he looked away nervously. "What..?"

"You're getting the hang of it!" She smiled, patting him on the head, which made him grumble and glare. "That's pretty romantic. And the fourth day, you can do the serenade that you've been working on. Which reminds me, I got something for you."

"Hm?" He looked at her, raising an invisible eyebrow in question. "What did you get me?"

"Okay.." She put up her hands as if to tell him to wait, giving him a smile, and running up the stairs. He sighed, crossing his arms and looking at the floor. He looked back up when she came back downstairs, hiding something large behind her back. He could already tell what it was by looking at the shape of it, and began to protest. But Temari cut him off. "Nope, you're not making me take this one back. I don't care what you say, you're keeping it."

"Temari.." He frowned, watching as she put it on the couch and opened it. He took a step closer, looking over her shoulder, then staring at the gift she got him. A jet black acoustic guitar, with red flames going along it. He blinked, staring at it, and Temari grinned. "What'd you have to pay to get something like this..??"

"Don't worry about that." She said, putting her hand on his shoulder. "You're going to learn the cords for the song you'll be singing to Naruto."

"Seriously.." He went to touch the instrument, then pulled his hand back, as if his hand would automatically destroy it once it came in contact with it. "On such short notice..?"

"You know how to play the guitar, it won't take long." She motioned for him to go on, smiling as he picked up the instrument carefully, looking it over. "We just need to find the notes and stuff."

"Okay.." He kept looking at the guitar, unable to help but wonder how much it actually did cost. "And it's on the fourth day, too, so that's good.."

"Yeah! See, it all works out." She crossed her arms, and he looked at her. She smirked. "Come'on, play your sissy a little somethin'."

He frowned, turning his eyes back to the guitar. "I couldn't..-"

"Do it." She gave him the evil eye, and he sat on the couch, getting the guitar ready and making sure he was comfortable. Surprisingly, it was perfect. This instrument must have been made for him. Temari smiled as he started to strum a small, soft tune. He glanced up at her, and she laughed.

"I think it likes you, Gaara."

- - -

"I'm taking you out tonight."

"Where..?" Naruto stared at Gaara, earning and empty smirk in reply. Naruto could see the expression was forced, wondering if Gaara was okay. "...?"

"To dinner." He said, motioning towards the door with a slight tilt of his head. Naruto blinked, going to the door and slipping his shoes on. The two of them headed out, and once they got outside of Naruto's building, Gaara slipped his arm around the blonde's. Naruto jumped, turning his head and staring at their arms. That was new.

"So.. uh.." Naruto hesitated, turning his eyes to the ground, blushing at the fact that they were walking arm in arm. "Where are we having dinner..?"

"You'll see." The red head glanced at Naruto briefly, seeing the redness on his face and wondering if he was embarrassed. "I think you'll like this place."

"Really??" Naruto looked at Gaara, forgetting all about how they were arm in arm. He grinned, a bit of a blush still on his face. "I can't wait."

"That's not surprising." Gaara said, and the conversation ended there. It was slightly awkward, Naruto probably felt awkward because he knew what he did, and Gaara felt awkward because he _also_ knew what the blond did, and because he barely even wanted to look at Naruto. They came upon a restaurant, and Gaara stopped. "Here we are.."

"Whoa..!" Naruto stared up at the sign of the restaurant, his eyes wide. He looked at Gaara, smiling, then looked back to the sign. "No way, you brought me to Ichiraku's?? This place is famous for their ramen!"

"Better than any instant cup ramen." Gaara glanced at Naruto, giving a small, almost unnoticeable smile, and pulling him in so they could actually eat. Naruto stared around, a look of awe on his face. He was surprised when Gaara had gotten reservations, and wondered where they were gong when the red head led him past the tables, one of the waitresses ahead of him and showing him where to go.

"What're we doing..?" Naruto asked, looking around as they were led onto the roof of the restaurant. There were a few tables, only one other in use, and they sat down at one. Naruto looked around, slightly amazed. "Wow.."

"Nice view, huh.." Gaara turned his head, looking to the horizon. The sun was only beginning to go down, and the sky was starting to turn an orangish colour. Naruto stared, his eyes bright. Their moment was ruined by the waitress, who giggled and asked what they would like to order. Obviously, they ordered Naruto's favourite. Once the waitress was gone, Gaara looked at Naruto, who was giving him a suspicious stare. "What.."

"This is really unlike you.." He said, and Gaara sighed, shaking his head. "You're not really that romantic.. who told you to do this?"

"Nobody." He replied, which was only half true. His sister came up with the idea of the restaurant and dance, Gaara chose where and made it happen. "What, can I not take my boyfriend out to dinner without being questioned?"

"Uh.. probably not.." The blond frowned, resting his elbows on the table. "I'm sorry.. it's just.. it's kinda shocking, I guess."

"Shocking." Gaara rubbed his temple, turning to look at the sunset. "Would you like to leave?"

"No, no!!" Naruto waved his arms around. "Wow, Gaara! You say you can't take me to dinner without being questioned but this is the first time ever and you're getting all defensive for nothing!"

"My apologies." He said simply, and Naruto sighed, slapping his own forehead. He kept his eyes on the horizon, the two of them going quiet. He could tell Naruto felt uncomfortable now, and he knew he needed to start acting better. He turned his head, smiling at the blond. "Just enjoy yourself."

"Wha..??" Naruto blinked, smiling back at Gaara and not exactly sure why. "O..okay..?"

Gaara continued to smile, and their food came, which helped to get rid of the awkwardness. They talked only a little as they ate, Naruto actually controlling himself so that he didn't eat all of his food within two seconds. He probably remembered that Gaara ate very slowly, so he didn't want to be done before him. Besides, he didn't want to look like even more of a slob than he did.

"Hey, Gaara.." Naruto looked at the red head, who looked up at him. "Why didn't you tell me we were going somewhere fancy?"

"Maybe because it was supposed to surprise you?" Gaara smirked at him. "Why would I tell you?"

"Well.. I mean, you look good today. Me? Look at what I'm wearing!" He pulled on his baggy yellow shirt, looking down at his baggy jeans. "I look like I should be in a skate park or something.."

"Naruto," He shook his head slowly, sighing. "You look good no matter what you're wearing."

"Haha.." He blushed, picking up his chopsticks and starting to eat again. "..."

Once they were done eating, Gaara payed the bill. They left the table, Naruto about to go back the way the waitress had showed them. Though, he was stopped, Gaara grabbing his hand and pulling him somewhere else. "We're not done yet."

"Huh??" He blinked, following Gaara to the other part of the roof. "What are we doing..??"

"Dancing." Gaara looked at Naruto, pulling him close. The blond felt his face go red as the red head's hands were at his hips. He didn't see a way out of it, nor did he want to get out of it, so he put his hands on Gaara's shoulders, blushing even more when they started to slow dance to the song that played.

"I never thought you'd be one to slow dance.." Naruto said, smiling. "Sudden change of mind?"

"When I met you, my mind changed." He replied, eyeing some of the people who were staring at them. "For the better?"

"Considering how you were before we became friends.." Naruto eyed the people as well, then looked at Gaara again. "Yes, for the better."

They smiled at each other as they danced, and Naruto sighed, putting his head on Gaara's shoulder. Gaara frowned once Naruto couldn't see it, wrapping his arms around him. It was going to be something really difficult to handle later on, and Gaara wished Sasuke had never even showed up in their lives. This moment would be sweet on both of their behalfs, not sweet for one of them and painful for the other.

He wondered if this was worth it.

- - -

A/N: Yay for long chapters :D

Thank you for reading and reviewing, next chapter coming soon :)


	16. Love Wars Part II

A/N: Do not worry, all of those who are wishing for Naruto to get what he deserves. Gaara has something in mind, you will see soon enough -gives an evil face- And thank you for all of your compliments and reviews :D

And I agree, Temari doesn't exactly strike me as the most romantic either, but I decided that I would make her romantic, only when it came to Gaara XD

Oh, and warning, some fluffish yaoi sort of happening in this chapter. - Just in case you'd like to know before hand :)

**In the Name of Soap Opera**

**Chapter Sixteen**

**Love Wars Part II**

"Uh huh.."

"What's wrong?" Sasuke frowned, giving Naruto a worried face. The blond blinked, looking at Sasuke with wide eyes. "What's on your mind?"

"O-oh.. nothing.." He lied, knowing that Gaara was all over his mind. He couldn't stop thinking of the red head, their night together had been so perfect. Which confused him as to why he was currently at Sasuke's house. Oh right, he was in too much of a daze to realize who he was agreeing with and following. He really started to get annoyed of Sasuke, the boy had just suddenly appeared in his life with a ton of problems for him to deal with.

He needed to tell Gaara what happened, that he kissed Sasuke, which was the only real problem for him and Gaara. Now, for Sasuke, he needed to tell him he was taken and that he never wanted anything like that to happen, not that their friendship had to end. He didn't want to hurt people, but it seemed to be the only thing he was heading towards right now.

He obviously wasn't looking forward to any of it, and he hadn't actually asked to kiss Sasuke. He wasn't going to blame all of it on Sasuke, in fact, he couldn't. The only person to blame was him, because he made so many mistakes. He didn't mean to make so many mistakes, they just happened.

"Alright, if you say so.." Sasuke raised his eyebrows, not believing Naruto. Not at all. "So.. what do you feel like doing..?"

"Uh.." He thought for a second. He felt like being with Gaara. He almost wanted to never talk to Sasuke again, to just get rid of him. That may have been the best choice for him, but Sasuke didn't ask for this either, so he couldn't. It wouldn't be fair. But what about Gaara? How is any of this fair for him, either? It wasn't, he didn't deserve any of this.

"Hello..?" Naruto snapped out of his daze again, blinking at Sasuke. "Have you thought of anything or..?"

"I'm not feeling too well, to be honest.." Naruto smiled nervously. "I kinda want to go home.."

"Okay." Sasuke smiled, standing up from the couch. "That's all you had to say. "Are you feeling sick?"

"Uh.." He nodded, and Sasuke told him to wait one moment as he wandered off. Naruto walked to the front door, getting his shoes on and waiting for Sasuke. He watched as the raven haired boy came back, a small basket in his hands. "What's that..?"

"A gift basket." He laughed, handing it to Naruto. "It's got medicinal things in it, a stress reliever, the works. Even chocolate. It should help you feel better."

"Heh.." Naruto suddenly felt bad, looking at the basket in his hands. "Thanks.."

"Here, I'll walk you home." Sasuke slipped his own shoes on, locking the door behind him when they were both out. They walked down the street, both of them not saying anything. The silence was slightly awkward, but nothing neither of them couldn't deal with.

Naruto couldn't wait to see Gaara, though.

- - -

"Is that Naruto??"

Gaara hadn't realized he was talking out loud, but he didn't care, Temari looked as well, keeping an eye on the road in front of them so they didn't crash. "It is, and he's with Sasuke.."

"So that's the kid, eh?" She looked back to the road, smirking. "Let's go back."

"What?" Gaara stared at her, then looked to the back of the car, staring at the two through the back window. "But why?"

"'Cause I want to get a better look. At both of them." She hit the brake, doing a U turn and going back to where Naruto and Sasuke were. They stood at red light, and Temari drove as close as possible. Gaara swore, flipping his hood up and hiding his face. Temari leaned over a bit, staring at them. It must have looked creepy, but she wasn't worried. Sasuke looked at Naruto, smiling, and receiving an obviously fake smile in return. Suddenly, the light changed, and Naruto's blue eye's turned to Temari, his fake smile fading and a confusing look replacing it. She pulled herself away and hit the gas.

"GAH!" Gaara's head was pulled back, along with his torso, and he smacked the back of his head off his seat. "Temari!! What's your problem!?"

"Ahahaha!!" She laughed, slowing down a bit and smiling at Gaara. "The blond one, right? You picked yourself a cute one, though, I must say, the black haired one is pretty hot."

"Temari!!" Gaara shouted, and she waved her hand at him. "You're supposed to be on my side.."

"I am I am!" She laughed, turning the corner and drove back around. A little trip to the mall to buy a new stereo turned into a whole adventure. "Well, from what I know about him, it deducts a lot of attractiveness points."

"He's two years younger than you.." Gaara made a face at her, and she laughed even more. He shook his head and sighed, looking out the window. Suddenly, he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket, pulling it out and reading the text he had just gotten. "huh.. apparently Naruto wants to hang out."

"Really..??" Temari looked at him briefly, then snorted. "Hah! Sasuke got ditched."

"Yeah, he did. I realize they were in the direction of Naruto's place, so the fool must have been walking him home.." He said, sending back his own text message. "That's alright, I'll take the day away from him with pleasure."

"'Atta boy." Temari grinned, turning at the light and going back the way Gaara's boyfriend had gone. "So, where's he live?"

Gaara smirked, telling her where to go. When they stopped in front of Naruto's building, Gaara undid his seat belt, looking at Temari. "Thank you, Temari.."

"Anytime, Gaara." She smiled, and he got out of the car. He waved before turning to the building, and Temari drove off.

"Go get 'em, little brother."

- - -

"You got here fast.."

"Yeah," Gaara smirked, sitting at Naruto's table and leaning his elbows on it. "I was actually on my way to the mall with Temari, so I got a drive."

"That's cool." Naruto grinned, sitting in the chair next to Gaara. He jumped up, grabbing Gaara's arm with a grin. "I want to show you something!"

"Alright.." He stood up, and Naruto pulled him through the messy apartment. When he got to his room, he pulled Gaara in, smiling.

"See?"

"Wow." Gaara looked around. The room was absolutely spotless, unlike how it usually was. He walked in a bit more, turning around to face Naruto. Though, the blond did something that Gaara hadn't been expecting. He was in front of Gaara, his hands on the red head's chest. And, what seemed to be a first kiss sort of moment turned into something else when Naruto pushed Gaara onto the bed.

"Hey, you're blushing.." Naruto giggled, and Gaara put a hand to his face as he sat up. Naruto shook his head, as if to say 'no, you can't do that', and pounced on Gaara. Which must have hurt the poor guy's pride, since he was on the bottom. Naruto grinned, and Gaara felt his face redden even more. "What's the matter?"

"I-I-I..." He slapped himself mentally, as if to try to get it together. Naruto leaned in, though, when Gaara turned his face, he moved his lips down to his neck. Gaara bit his lip, staring at the top of Naruto's head as the blond kissed his neck. His body jerked when Naruto started to rub up and down his chest, licking his neck up to his jaw line.

"Aw, you're so stiff." Naruto laughed, and Gaara made a face, even knowing that the blond mean't something that wasn't perverted. "What? What's with the face?"

"N-nothing.." Gaara looked away, trying to get rid of the look of his face. He was also trying to rid himself of the nervous stuttering. "E-everyone.. h-has a f-face.."

"Aw, Gaara, you're so innocent and cute." Gaara suddenly looked peeved, and Naruto smiled. He trailed his hands down the red head's chest, one of his hands slipping under Gaara's shirt, and the other resting at the line of his pants. "Mmm, so warm. Would you like me to loosen your pants so you don't have problems later on?"

"..." Gaara's eyes windened, and he kept them focused on the wall. He gasped when Naruto started to undo his pants, getting a laugh in reply.

"Wow, Gaara. I didn't know you could make such squeeky noises with that manly voice of yours." Naruto teased, which caused the red head to look peeved again. "You're such an uke."

Gaara glared at the wall, feeling the blush deepen as Naruto pulled his shirt down a bit and started nibbling on his collar bone. He was _not_ an uke. So, to prove it, he put his hands on Naruto's shoulders, pushing him over and getting on top of him. Naruto blinked, and Gaara moved his lips near one of Naruto's ears, whispering. "I am not the uke."

"Haha.." Naruto laughed, knowing that Gaara would have done something like this. The blond had only been provoking him. Gaara bit Naruto's ear, sending shivers up his spine. He moved down to the blond's neck, biting down softly at first. Naruto squirmed slightly, and Gaara slowly bit harder, listening as his boyfriend moaned quietly. He closed his eyes, biting harder.

"G-Gaara.." Naruto lifted his hands and put them through Gaara's hair, his eyes closing halfway and a light blush on his face. A low growl rumbled through Gaara's throat, and he bit even harder. Naruto gasped, and Gaara stopped biting, licking along the deep mark he left. He needed to stop, he couldn't let this go so far. A kiss was different, but if this went a little further it would be going too far.

Not only that, if him and Naruto did anything then it would only hurt them both in the end. But he found himself slipping Naruto's shirt off, moving his lips to another part of the blond's neck, kissing it. As his lips proceeded to give Naruto a hickey, his hand roamed around freely, the other reaching up and grabbing one of Naruto's hands, holding it.

He shouted mentally at himself to stop. He loved Naruto, he loved him more than anything. He wanted to stay, to be with him forever, to forget about everything. But he couldn't, and he knew that. He would be hurt again if Naruto did what he did twice, and since Gaara couldn't be sure he wouldn't do it again, he wasn't going to take the chance.

He wished it was something simple enough to let go, but Naruto cheated, lied, and possibly even ignored him. He wished he could know how Naruto really felt, what was going on through his brain, what he was thinking. What if he didn't want those problems to happen as much as Gaara didn't? But he lied, so what was really going on in his head?

His frustration made him bite Naruto again, and since the spot was already tender, he knew it would hurt more. His teeth dug in, a louder growl from before ripping through his throat and his hand that was at Naruto's chest digging it's nails into the blond's soft skin. His eyes showed a mix of anger and lust, and he listened as Naruto started to moan again. The look in his eyes went away, save for the lust, and the noise Naruto made was strange.

Apparently he was masochistic, because when Gaara pulled both his teeth and nails out of Naruto's skin, they had actually been so deep that they had stuck slightly. He watched as Naruto's neck started to bleed, and he looked at the blond's face. When Naruto finally realized that Gaara was just sitting there, staring at him, he blinked, his eyes filled with lust and a dark blush on his face.

"Gaara.." Naruto still had his hands on the back of Gaara's head, and he pulled his face closer. Their faces were less than inches apart, and the blond's hands moved to the sides of Gaara's head. "I want you.."

"Naruto.." He felt a bit of rage surge through him. Naruto didn't only want him, did he? Did he not need him too? "I.."

"I _need_ you, Gaara.." Naruto closed his eyes, and Gaara felt a bit stupid for feeling upset a few seconds ago. "I love you.."

"I.. love you, too.. Naruto.." It was hard to say those words, considering everytime he thought of even kissing Naruto, he thought of how Sasuke touched them first. He didn't want to be played like this, to be a silly game of love and lust. How could he be sure him and Sasuke haven't done anything like this before? The thought brought sadness to his eyes. "And.. I.. need you.. too.."

"Come close, Gaara.. like we've never been before.." Naruto pulled Gaara's face down with him as he lay back, their lips merely a centimeter apart. Gaara stared into Naruto's eyes once the blond opened them again, watching as they merged together since their faces were so close. Naruto stared into Gaara's eyes as well, probably seeing them merge together, too. "Please.."

"Naruto.." He wasn't in the right state of mind to be having his first time, especially with someone who hurt him like this. He smirked sadly, moving his lips by Naruto's ear again, one of his hands moving to caress the blond's cheek. He whispered quietly, the tone in his voice a mix between sadness, grief, and frustration. "We're not ready for this."

"Gaara.." Naruto's tone of voice changed as well, becoming upset and disappointed. "Okay.."

He closed his eyes, forgetting everything and just enjoying the moment the best he could.

- - -

A/N: Yay for long chapters! Ah, anyway, yes, ahem, fluffyness. Hope you enjoyed that XD

Thanks for reading and reviewing, next chapter coming soon :D


	17. Love Wars Part III

A/N: I have something for all of my readers. PLEASE LOOK!! I am having trouble deciding which ending I would prefer for this story, if you have any advice that would be nice, though it's not necessary I just thought I'd throw that out there! Oh, and I'm really really really sorry for the long delay, I will try my best to keep the chapters going at the pace I had them at! SORRY!! It's just I've been having a bit of troubles, I'm going to need surgery soon, school's starting again, and I've been a bit depressed for some odd reason. But that doesn't matter!

Anyway, enjoy the chapter :P

**In the Name of Soap Opera**

**Chapter Seventeen**

**Love Wars Part III**

"What's on your mind?"

"Nothing." Naruto stared at the kids running around in the park, Sasuke and him sitting on a bench nearby. The weekend had come, and Sasuke had asked the blond to hang out that day. He sighed, glancing at Sasuke, who had a worried look on his face. To be honest, he really didn't want to be talking to Sasuke at this moment. He now found that ever becoming friends with Sasuke was a stupid decision, and he had only made even stupider decisions after that. But now he snapped back into reality, and he knew what he needed to do.

"Are you sure?" Sasuke asked, and Naruto looked at him, his face blank. "I mean.. you've been really quiet.. and you're usually the one talking."

"Yeah, well I don't really feel like talking today." Naruto shot back, glaring at him. Sasuke blinked, leaning his face back and putting his hands up in defense.

"Whoa, man.. chill out, I was just saying.." Sasuke frowned, crossing his arms and raising an eyebrow at the blond. "You didn't need to go all berserk on me.."

"I'm going home.." Naruto sighed, standing up and putting his hands in his pockets, walking away. Sasuke just sat there, watching him leave. The blonde's behaviour had been quite strange lately. He frowned, feeling a defeat soon approaching.

- - -

"So you missed me, huh?"

"Yeah.." Naruto blushed, lowering his head slightly. Gaara smirked, putting his hands in his pockets and looking up to the sky. It was nearing sun down, which was perfect. Naruto looked at the red head, closing the small space between them by leaping into an embrace. It caught Gaara off guard, and they almost fell over. "Hehehehe.."

"Well, that was spontaneous." Gaara laughed, wrapping one arm around Naruto's waist. They started to walk again, and Gaara sighed. "But I suppose I should expect spontaneous actions from the likes of you, Naruto."

"No you're not, they are spontaneous you can't expect them!!" Naruto grinned, and Gaara shook his head slightly. Keeping his arms around Gaara, which made it very awkward to walk, he looked up at the red head. "So what are we going to do today?"

"I have something to show you." Gaara replied, taking his arm away and pulling out of Naruto's embrace, It brought a frown to the blonde's face, probably because he felt rejected or something, but the grin came back when Gaara took his hand. "A place that I like to go to."

"Really??" Naruto jumped around a few times, then continued to walk hand in hand with his boyfriend. "So it's a special place?"

"Mmhmm." Gaara nodded, leading them to the beach. Naruto looked around, watching a few people play around in the sand, and some in the water. He wondered where Gaara was bringing him as they continued to walk farther down the beach. Gaara brought Naruto up a few rocks that they had to climb, helping the blond up, then looked out to the ocean. "Watch.."

Naruto looked out to where Gaara was staring,watching as the sun went down and the sky changed colours. The water changed with the sky, and a slight breeze came by. The air was fresh, the scene was beautiful, the view was brilliant, and the one standing beside him was perfect. "Wow.."

"Yeah." Gaara smiled, putting his arm around Naruto's shoulders, and once the blond leaned his head on Gaara's shoulder, the red head leaned his on Naruto's head. "Lovely, isn't it.."

"It's beautiful.." Naruto smiled, unable to ask for anything better than spending time with Gaara. For anything _better_ than Gaara. "Gaara.."

"I love you." The red head said, closing his eyes. He felt a throb in his chest, and knew it was a repeated stab into his heart. His words were true, he knew they were. Which was why he knew he wasn't going to be able to go through with his plan. His voice was firm as he spoke, but his eyes and heartbeat gave away his anxiety. "More than anything in the world."

"I love you too, Gaara." Naruto moved, looking up at Gaara. He put his arms around his boyfriend, his eyes glistening in the sunlight. It was the perfect romantic moment, one that you would probably see in a movie. This was the scene where one of the lovers would lean in for the first kiss, and in this case, it was Naruto. He closed his eyes slightly, leaning closer to Gaara.

The red head knew what was going on, feeling his heart skip a beat, which didn't help with the knife that was still stabbing into it. He felt his own eyes close slightly, and his face move in on instinct. But he interrupted his instincts, turning his face and closing his eyes. He could feel Naruto's eyes on him, and he lowered his head to escape them.

"What's wrong..?" Naruto asked, lifting his hand and turning Gaara's face softly. "Are you okay..?"

"Nhh.." He opened his eyes, staring into his lover's. If he was going to go through with his plan, he couldn't let this happen. If he threw the plan away and forgot about everything, it wouldn't matter. So, he smiled nervously, averting his eyes. "Nothing.. I'm fine."

"You're so shy." Naruto giggled, moving from Gaara's side and standing in front of him. He lifted the red head's chin, looking into his eyes with a determination and passion that flowed like a raging fire. Gaara blinked, seeing the truth in Naruto's eyes, witnessing the love that lay within them. He couldn't refuse to that, though, it left him frozen. Naruto smiled, caressing Gaara's cheek. "The other day you could sit there and bite me so ferociously, and yet a little kiss terrifies you."

"Hn.." Gaara closed his eyes, feeling a bit of heat come to his face. Naruto's hands rested on the red head's cheeks, and Gaara knew that the blond was leaning in right about now. He didn't move his face, merely putting a hand on Naruto's and keeping his eyes shut. Soon enough, the soft touch of Naruto's lips came in contact with Gaara's, and everything suddenly felt so right.

He leaned into the kiss, wrapping his arm around Naruto and pulling him closer. The gentle kiss turned deep and passionate, and Naruto's arms wrapped around Gaara's shoulders. Gaara pulled away, leaning his forehead against Naruto's and breathing heavily. He opened his eyes slightly, looking into Naruto's. The blond smiled, moving his hands to Gaara's and lowering himself, pulling Gaara with him. They laid down on the giant rock they were on, and Naruto rested his head on Gaara's chest.

"See, wasn't that just so scary?" Naruto huffed, giggling when he noticed Gaara blush again. He grinned, in a bit of a teasing mood. "You're so cute when you blush."

"Shut it." Gaara replied jokingly, lifting his hand and putting it through Naruto's hair. "You're ten times cuter than I will ever be."

"Ah, get over it." Naruto laughed, getting on top of Gaara with a mischievous grin. He made sure he was sitting on Gaara's pelvic area, leaning down and kissing his boyfriend. Gaara propped himself up on his elbows, bringing on another passionate and deep kissing moment. As they made out, Naruto put his hands through Gaara's hair, rocking himself back and forth.

Gaara's eyes opened briefly, shock coursing through him, which Naruto was lucky enough to catch a glimpse of, and he closed them again, pulling himself up into a sitting position. Naruto's legs wrapped around him, and the two continued to kiss. He was being drawn into temptation now, and his instincts were winning this round. How could they not when Naruto was teasing him like that?

Moving his hands, they found their way up the blonde's shirt, rubbing and exploring where ever they pleased. Naruto wiggled slightly, recieving a groan from Gaara. He laughed, pulling away for a second. "Well then, you-- Wah!"

Naruto blinked when Gaara pushed him down, pulling the blond's shirt up and nipping lightly along Naruto's stomach, up to his chest, collar bone, and all around. He giggled, rubbing Gaara's shoulders.

"I see you're not messing aroun-nnnn..." Naruto moaned softly as Gaara began to move his hand along his inner thigh while biting between his neck and shoulder. "Oh.."

"Mommy mommy!!" The voice of a little child could be hear, and Naruto came back to his senses, staring at the sky. Gaara froze, staring at Naruto's neck. "Look!! Two boy's are hugging up there!! They must be very very good friends! Next time I see Tsuchi I'm going to show her how much of a great friend she is, too!!"

Both of them slowly turned their heads, looking down to the family that was now watching them. The mother was pulling her daughter back to her while giving a strange look to them, and the father had his arms crossed, a slightly disgusted look on his face, while their teenage looking son was laughing at the two lovers. They glanced at eachother, and in an instant, Gaara was off of him, climbing down the other side of the rock, while Naruto fumbled with his shirt and gave apologetic looks and hand motions to the people before following Gaara.

Once they were on the other side, it was quiet. The silence was slightly awkward in a way, and they walked through the sand without a word. Suddenly, Naruto giggled, and Gaara looked at him. His giggling became out of control, and soon enough, Gaara was chuckling. They laughed together while walking close to the shore, and Gaara pushed Naruto into the water.

"ACK!" Naruto shouted before he hit the water. Sitting up, he gave evil glares to Gaara, who laughed, and spit out the water that had somehow managed to get into his mouth. "Thanks a lot. Now I'm soaked."

"Heh.." Gaara crossed his arms, then got splashed in the face by his lover. He listen as Naruto laughed, then gave shouts of protest when the blond grabbed his legs, tripping him and pulling him into the water. "Gah! Hey hey, stop!"

"Haha!!" Naruto laughed at Gaara after dunking his boyfriend's head into the water. Now they were both soaked. Gaara jumped up, running out of the water, and was soon followed by Naruto. They laughed, and Naruto jumped onto Gaara. The sudden weight and unstabability caused him to fall over, and they ended up laying in the sand. Naruto rested ontop of Gaara, smiling down at him and playing with his wet hair.

"I love you." He kissed Gaara softly, and the red head smiled.

"I love you, too."

- - -

A/N: And I suppose that was my make-up... or make-_out_ chapter O.o I hope you enjoyed, and that you fogive me! I am trying my best D:

Thank you for reading and reviewing!


	18. So Much For Goodbyes

A/N: Thank you for the support :D And I apologize, I forgot that I needed to put options he he.. Er, well, I have an idea now, so I think I'll try it out :D Which involves a sequel, so that means the upcoming ending for this story won't be so seemingly terrifying XD

Anyway, please enjoy :)

**In the Name of Soap Opera **

**Chapter Eighteen**

**So Much For Goodbyes**

"Hey, Naruto.."

"What?" The blond snapped out of his daydream, looking to beside him to Sakura who was staring, looking a bit confused, worried, and curious. He blinked, feeling a blush come to his cheeks. "W-what..?"

"You've been daydreaming a lot." She smirked, and he looked away, scratching the back of his neck. "Give me all the details. _All_ of them."

"Hey, no, I'm not giving you_ any_ details!" He crossed his arms, sticking out his tongue at Sakura. "Screw you."

"Ah ha!" She laughed, jumping over and putting Naruto into a headlock. "I knew it!! Tell me what happened!"

"Ahh!!" He struggled to get out of her headlock, but to no success. Finally, he gave up, pouting as he spilled all of the details. "Me and Gaara almost did it. Like... twice..!!"

"Shut up!" Sakura gasped, moving to sit in front of Naruto. "What did he do? Did he moan? What did it sound like? How big is he?"

"SAKURA?!" Naruto shouted, covering his face when he felt it going red. "He likes to bite, I know that.. and when he gets challenged he goes really rough and tough, and all demanding, it's kinda hot actually.. And he didn't moan, but he groaned one time, and it was actually kinda sexy.. I have no clue, we haven't gotten that far and why do you want to know that?!"

"Because it's interesting," She giggled, then put her hands on her knees, leaning forward with a curious look on her face. "Bites? Ooh you must like that, huh? Not to mention the rough and toughness. Why did he groan? Did you feel him up? Was he all hot?"

"You're crazy, you know that?" Naruto blinked, staring at her with a funny look. "Yes, of course I like the biting part.. and the roughness.. and he groaned 'cause I was teasing him, hehehe.. we were almost going to do it on the beach!!"

"The beach?!" Sakura laughed, shaking her head at Naruto. "Naughty boy."

"What? Hey, be quiet!" He pointed at her accusingly. "You're the one who is asking me all of this, you perv!"

"Calm down, Naruto." Sakura smirked. "Listen, you gotta tell me everything that goes on with you and Gaara, and I promise not to make fun of you and be nosey, kay? We gotta deal?"

Naruto sighed, knowing he would have to tell Sakura about his love life anyway. Might as well do it while being safe from a tease.

"Deal."

- - -

"Hey Gaara,"

He looked up, seeing the eyes of his older sister peering down at him. He nodded once, a gesture that said 'What is it?' or 'What do you want?'. She sat down beside him, smiling slightly. It confused him, and he gave her strange look. "What..?"

"So, I heard from a very reliable source," She snickered, then cleared her throat and continued. "You and Naruto were doin' it on the beach, huh?"

"We did not!" Gaara jumped up, going into full defense mode. "It might have looked like it but we weren't there yet!"

"Ha ha!" She laughed at him, shaking her head a bit. "Dirty boy, doing it in public."

"I was _not_ doing it in public!" He protested, crossing his arms and glaring at the wall. "Stop it. I've had enough teasing from _everybody_."

"Oh, be quiet. Take it like a man." Temari grinned, and Gaara gave her the most unamused expression of all time. "Look, do I need to give you the condom tal-?"

"NO." He interrupted her, shaking his head furiously. She laughed at him again, then stood and gave him a hug. "What's up with Sasuke, hm?"

"Oh," He gave an empty smirk, glancing at her. "He'll get what he deserves, don't even worry about that."

"Ahah, evil planner, eh?" She grinned, walking over to the stairs and giving him a last wave. "Well, I'm off to bed, little brother. Have fun thinking about Sasuke's demise."

"I will." He waved back, and she walked up the stairs. He sat back down on the couch, looking at the ceiling. He knew Sasuke would wish he had never touched Naruto.

It was inevitable.

- - -

"Pay attention,"

"Yes, ma'am." Naruto nodded, having gotten scolded for daydreaming. It had been the fourth time that day, and luckily for him, this was the last class. He looked down to his paper, which he hadn't done any work on, and stared at it. He didn't pay attention as the teacher explained how to do some sort of math problem, staring at the paper as he continued to daydream.

He got to stare at the back of his lover's head during first period, though, unfortunately they were only in the first class together, none of the others. But, at least they were in _one_ class together, instead of none. Naruto sighed, looking up to the teacher as she talked. He didn't listen, just thought about when this class would end.

Just as that thought had run through his mind, the bell rang, and everyone stood, leaving the class and probably not listening to the teachers reminder to do their homework. He got his stuff together, picking it all up and walking out of the class to get to his locker as quick as possible. Though, the teacher wasn't on his side, as she had called his name and stopped him from leaving the class.

"Naruto," She crossed her arms, a disappointed look on her face. "You can't expect to pass your classes if all you do is sit there and dream. If you're not getting sufficient rest, and that is why you daydream in school, then go to bed earlier. I do not want to see you dreaming in my class again, because if your grades are effected by your lack of participation, I won't hesitate to keep you back."

He nodded, turning to leave the class. His expression grew annoyed as the teacher once again called his name to stop him from leaving the class. "Yes, ma'am?"

"Come to class fully awake tomorrow." She said, walking to her desk. "Or I will give you a detention."

"Sure thing." He left before she could say anything else, rushing through the halls to his locker.

Hopefully Gaara was still in the school.

- - -

Gaara left his last period class, heading towards his locker. He unlocked it, shoving everything into his bag and closing it again. He threw the bag over his shoulder, leaving his locker and going on his way to Naruto's. He wished for Sasuke to be there, just to make everything better.

Naruto wouldn't see this coming, either, which could potentially be a good thing. Neither of them would see it coming, and it would surprise everyone. Hopefully, Sasuke would take the hint and stay out of their lives for good.

He smirked, liking the thought of that. No Sasuke, it would be a dream come true. He could definitely live without seeing that boy's face around, no doubt about it. He turned the corner, seeing Naruto's locker. He smiled as he watched the blond fumble with his belongings, everything dropping out of his locker and making him shout at it.

"Hey," Gaara said as he walked up to Naruto and leaned on the locker beside his. "Having troubles?"

"Yes." Naruto sighed, then looked at Gaara with a huge smile. "HEYY!!"

Gaara blinked when Naruto practically tackled him, patting his lover's back once and smirking at him when he pulled away. Naruto continued to sort his stuff out. "Need some help?"

"No no, I'm fine." He grinned, throwing everything back into his locker and locking it, picking his bag up and standing beside Gaara. "See? I can handle myself, don't worry about me."

Gaara shook his head slightly, smirking at the blond, then looking past him to the raven haired boy who made his way over. Apparently Sasuke had brilliant timing. "Hello, Sasuke."

"Gaara," Sasuke nodded, then looked to Naruto. "So, Naruto, what are you doing tonight?"

"Um.." Naruto blinked, looking to Gaara, then back to Sasuke. "I-"

"We have plans." Gaara cut Naruto off, wrapping his arm around the blonde's waist and pulling his close. He stared at Sasuke with cold eyes. "Sorry."

"I see.." Sasuke glared at Gaara, crossing his arms. "So what, you two getting married or something?"

"Eventually." Gaara gave an empty smirk, glancing at Naruto briefly. The blond was blushing madly. "You're not invited, though."

"Oh really.." Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "You do realize, it's probably not going to happen, right? Naruto doesn't like you like that."

"Heh.." Gaara turned, putting a hand on the back of Naruto's head and pulling him into a deep, passionate kiss. Right in the middle of the hallway, where almost everyone stopped to look. Naruto looked shocked at first, but he disregarded everybody else, returning the kiss. Sasuke eyes widened slightly, and he looked like he was going to say something, but didn't.

Sakura and Ino walked up to them, and upon noticing the two were making out, they gave each other a high five and watched them. Boys laughed, gave strange looks, or completely ignored them. Girls laughed, said how cute it was, or whispered about it when they walked away. Neither Gaara or Naruto cared about what was going on around them, until Gaara pulled away and looked at Sasuke with a victorious smirk.

"That is how you kiss somebody." He said, then winked at Naruto, walking away. Naruto blinked, looking from Sasuke to Gaara, then to Sakura and Ino. then to everybody else that was still staring.

"Um.. um.." He threw his bag over his shoulder and ran away. Sakura looked at Ino, then followed Naruto. Ino turned to Sasuke, glaring at him.

"You are an idiot." She spat on the floor in front of him in a sign of disgust. "And you clearly are a loser, as well. To think that I actually liked you at some point, ew!"

He watched as Ino walked away after that, looking around at everybody who was still there. Some of them laughed and pointed at him, and he shook his head, walking away with an angry look. He hadn't expected such a hard loss.

Too bad for him.

- - -

"I can't believe you did that!"

"Hey," He smirked, wrapping his arms around Naruto. "At least we won't have problems coming out now, right?"

"Well yeah.. news spreads fast.." He smiled, wrapping his arms around Gaara as well. They stood in one of the empty halls of the school, up against the wall. Naruto frowned, looking down. 'How'd you know about..?"

"I was there." He replied, which brought a half shocked, half depressed look to his boyfriend's face. "It's okay, Naruto. It's in the past."

"But.. it must look so bad.." His expression changed, and now he looked to be on the verge of tears. "I really didn't want it.. and I hadn't seen it coming, and I was scared.. but then I imagined your face and everything got better.. I'm really sorry!"

"Like I said," He smiled, kissing Naruto softly. "It is in the past, and I have left it behind. Though, hearing that makes me feel much better about it. Will you leave it behind with me?"

"..Yes.." He nodded, smiling and hugging Gaara tightly. "I love you."

"I love you too, Naruto."

- - -

A/N: THE END!! -cries- Um.. ahem.. yes, there is a sequal. I hope you enjoyed that chapter, and this story, as much as I did. The sequel will be following shortly, I will make sure of it!! Thank you for reading and reviewing! Please stay in tune for the sequel that will be coming to a fanfiction near you. O.o

Ahem, yes. Anyway, THANKYOU!

By the way, sorry if this story seems too short, the sequel should be longer, I hope :)


	19. Update?

So hey, it's been about four years now... So much for getting on that sequel right away, eh? Anyhow, I've been to hell and back, but I'm surprisingly open to writing up that sequel. It will undoubtedly allow my creative energy in writing to flow, which I haven't done so much of. I know, though, that I am absolutely much better than I was. What can I say.

If any of the reviewers are actually still around, don't hesitate to comment on whether or not you'd like to see the sequel, I won't mind either way I suppose. I just thought I'd find my way back here and finish what I started. Considering I still know the jist of what I was going to do. Heh.

Thanks for reading, and see you around maybe?


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